I Forgot
by PurpleWonderPower
Summary: Maximus I.Q. uses a special machine to erase everything Betty knows about being a Galactic Guardian from her memory. Confused as to what is going on, Betty resumes her life on Earth, while Maximus wreaks havoc on the galaxy with no Atomic Betty to stop him.
1. Another Day, Another Mission

**Chapter 1**  
**Another Day, Another Mission**

"I think we have a really good chance this year," Betty said to her two best friends Paloma and Noah.

"So do I," agreed Paloma, and Noah nodded too.

"We haven't won for three years now," he said, "The first prize _has_ to have our name on it this year. After all, this has got to be our best comic book yet." He held up the special edition of their comic book series, _The Ruby Red Avenger._

The three friends were standing in a long line of students waiting to submit their entries for the annual comic book competition. Every year, the school held this competition in the stage room, and every year so far, Betty, Noah and Paloma had come _so_ close to winning, but failed. The first two years, they had lost to the Osbourne twins, who were as good at comic-making as they were. Last year they had lost to Penelope, Megan and Sarah, for their comic book _Pink Poodles,_ but Betty had a sneaking suspicion that Penelope had paid off Principal Peterson to make her win, because their comic book had been a thousand times better than _Pink Poodles,_ and Penelope had been afraid she would lose. Betty certainly wouldn't put it past her. She remembered when Penelope had paid off their soccer referee to allow Penelope's team to cheat. But this year was the one. Betty could feel it.

"Hey, _Betty_," a shrill and irritating voice wavered through the air. Betty and her friends sighed. They knew that voice only too well. "Is _that_ your entry?" sneered Penelope Lang, trotting up to them.

"Yes," Betty replied, firmly, holding up _The Ruby Red Avenger: Special Edition_. "You got a problem with that, Penelope?"

"Oh," Penelope sneered, "You _must_ have gotten the wrong place! This line is for the _comic book_ contest! The competition for_ garbage collecting_ isn't til next week!" She walked off, laughing her irritating high-pitched giggle.

Betty fumed. "If Penelope makes one more crack about our comics..." she seethed.

"She can be a real pain," Paloma agreed.

"Don't listen to her, Betty," Noah said, confidently, "I'm sure we're going to win this year."

Just at that moment, Betty's bracelet beeped. The galaxy needed her! "Still..." Betty said, thinking desperately of something to say, "Maybe I _should_ make sure we're on the list. Just to double check." And with that, Betty shoved _The Ruby Red Avenger: Special Edition_ into Noah's hands, then shot down the corridor and disappeared from view. Her two best friends watched after her.

"Do you ever wonder where she goes?" Noah asked Paloma, interestedly.

Paloma smiled deep inside. "No," she replied, with a twinkle in her eye.

The truth was, Paloma was an alien from the planet Sharbena, and Betty, or should she say _Atomic_ Betty, was a Galactic Guardian, whose job it was to protect the galaxy from villains and evil doers. Only a few weeks ago had Atomic Betty and her friends rescued Paloma from her evil twin sister Pandora, and got her safely home to Earth. Now both girls had a friend to share their secrets with.

"Good luck, Atomic Betty," Paloma whispered to herself.

Betty shot down the corridor and skidded to a halt next to the janitor's closet. Quick as a whip, she flung open the door and leapt in. Making sure she was alone, Betty pressed the button on her bracelet, and a hologram of her commander Admiral DeGill appeared.

"Atomic Betty reporting for duty!" said Betty, saluting.

"Atomic Betty!" exclaimed DeGill, "We need you! Maximus I.Q. is obliterating planets near his citadel in V Quadrant! He must be stopped!"

"I'm on my way!" Betty saluted!

* * *

"OK, how did I get wrapped up in this again?" wondered Atomic Betty, half an hour later, struggling against the metal bonds and looking at Maximus I.Q.'s ultimate vaporising ray, which was pointing straight at her face.

It had been another casual and ordinary mission. Maximus had been doing what he did best and in going to stop him, Betty had been lured into yet another of his elaborate traps. Again. Honestly, that supervillain really did have absolutely no intention of giving up. Until Betty was destroyed, and the universe was his, he would just come up with plan after plan after plan to get what he wanted. Betty had always foiled him, of course, but there had been many close calls. And now seemed to be another one.

"Finally!" Maximus purred, evilly, flicking some switches on the control panel, "After all these years, I can finally dispose of this wretched Galactic Guardian!" Maximus's whiskers twitched excitedly as his eyes bored down on his redheaded Galactic Guardian nemesis, "I told you I'd get you one day!" he smirked, "And that day is today!"

Betty struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. "You won't get away with this!" she yelled!

Maximus laughed. "Oh, but I—"

"—already have," cut in Betty, "I know. You say that practically every time we meet."

Maximus scowled. "Say goodbye to your wretched life!" he snapped, "For this will be the last thing you shall ever see! Mwahahahahaha!" And with that, Maximus jammed his hand onto the activating button on his vaporising ray.

Betty's eyes widened in fear as the vaporising ray warmed up! One blast of that thing and she would be reduced to confetti, and there would be nobody to stop Maximus! If she messed up now, the universe was doomed! She frantically struggled against her bonds, until she felt the metal scrape against her bracelet.

Betty suddenly had an idea! "Engage buzzsaw!" she ordered her bracelet.

A buzzsaw with razor-sharp edges popped out of it, and as it did so, it ripped apart the bond holding her left hand! It was the work of a moment to slice through the other bonds before the vaporising ray fired!

Betty gasped and threw out her hand! Her bracelet shield activated and took the full blast from the ray, almost knocking Betty back, but protecting her!

Maximus laughed. "You think you can protect yourself with that mere trinket!" he jeered, and with a flick of his fingers, he pumped up the power of the vaporising ray to full throttle!

Betty struggled to stay up as the blast got stronger. Then she had an idea. "Heat-seeking missiles!" she shouted! Her bracelet ejected three bright red missiles, which headed right for Maximus's control panel! There was a huge CRASH! and the floor was littered with the remains of the vaporising ray!

"No!" bellowed Maximus in fury, "Curse you, Atomic Betty!"

"No matter how many times you try, Maximus, good will always prevail over evil!" Betty shouted, defiantly, aiming her bracelet lazer at him.

"Chief! Up here!" exclaimed a voice from above!

Betty looked up to see her red starcruiser hovering above them, and Sparky hollering out the entrance!

"Quick! Beam me up!" exclaimed Betty, frantically.

"NO!" bellowed Maximus! He shoved his hand inside his robe for his spare death ray, but it was too late; Betty's starcruiser beamed her up and shot away from Maximus's citadel like a bolt of lightning.

"Great timing, boys!" exclaimed Betty, as their starcruiser shot away from the citadel and headed towards Earth.

"I do my best," replied Sparky, smugly.

* * *

"Noah! Paloma!" called Betty, running over and joining her two best friends in the group of kids who had entered their comic books into the contest a few minutes later.

"Hey, Betty," said Noah, "So where were you?"

"Uhhhh...it's kind of a long story," said Betty, uncertainly.

"Oh really?" said Noah, "Then do tell."

"Quiet, you two!" whispered Paloma, "Principal Peterson's about to announce the winner!"

_Thanks, Paloma,_ thought Betty, in relief,_ That was close._

"And the winner of this year's comic book contest is..." said Principal Peterson.

The whole crowd held their breath.

"...The Ruby Red Avenger: Special Edition!" announced Principal Peterson, "Betty, Noah, Paloma! Come up and get your prize!"

The three friends' jaws dropped! For a moment, they thought they had heard wrong. With looks of pure delight, they hurried forward!

"We won!" squealed Paloma, as the three besties headed up onto the stage, "We won!"

They reached the stage and Principal Peterson handed Betty a large golden trophy.

"I have to say, you three," Principal Peterson said to the three friends, "You really knocked this comic book contest right out of the rink. How in the world did you come up with all those ideas of aliens and space monsters?"

"Oh, that wasn't hard," chirped Betty, innocently, sharing a knowing glance with Paloma, "It all just came naturally."


	2. Maximus Displeasure

**Chapter 2**  
**Maximus Displeasure**

"I can't believe we won!" Betty exclaimed, as she, Paloma and Paloma's little sister Juanita walked home, "Oh, I just _knew_ we could do it!"

"So what happened to you?" asked Paloma, with a smile.

"What?" asked Betty.

"On your mission," smiled Paloma, "Tell me what happened."

Taking a quick glance around to check that they were alone, Betty told Paloma and Juanita all about her mission, how she had been called to stop Maximus from destroying planets, and in doing so, been lured into a trap and almost been vaporised.

"Just another ordinary day for Atomic Betty," smiled Paloma.

"That sounds really exciting," said Juanita, wistfully, "I wish I could have come."

The truth was, Juanita wasn't an ordinary girl either. Despite her cute and innocent appearance, Juanita was another Galactic Guardian, just like Betty. She had been sent to Earth with Paloma to protect her from Pandora. Of course, that was before Betty had discovered that Paloma was an alien. Pandora had kidnapped Paloma and used her life force to spring the Beluvian demon from Spindly Tam Kanushu's Beluvian Demon Box, in hope that they could rule the universe together. But with help from Sparky, X-5, Juanita and (although reluctantly) Maximus I.Q., Betty and Paloma had defeated Pandora and succeeded in trapping her, along with the demon, safely inside the Beluvian Demon Box for good.

"It _was_ pretty exciting," Betty smiled, "I wish you could come with me on some of my missions, Paloma. You'd make a really good Galactic Guardian."

"So do I," Paloma agreed, "But since I got kidnapped by my evil twin sister and temporarily drained of my life force only a few weeks ago, I think I'm gonna lay low for a while."

Betty chuckled. "Good idea," she said, smiling. Then a thought struck her. "So does that mean you're not coming to the Galactic Guardian awards ceremony next week?" she asked.

"I am," said Juanita, "But Paloma's not."

"You're not!?" exclaimed Betty, "But, Paloma—"

"I just want to have a normal life," said Paloma, "You're Atomic Betty, you're built for having alien adventures every day. But I just want to enjoy my life on Earth and be an ordinary girl." Her eyes twinkled with a ghostly purple light. "Most of the time."

* * *

"Of all the pesky, troublesome, goody-two-shoes heroes!" ranted Maximus, pacing around the room, "What have I done to deserve having Atomic Betty constantly on my tail!?"

"Well," said Minimus, uncertainly, watching the feline supervillain pace furiously around, "You kidnapped her best friends, tried to add her to your permanent menagerie, created clones to frame her for crime, used an army of giant ants to crush her, tried to blow up Galactic Guardian Headquarters, stole the No-L Nine last Christmas, made a reality show to see who could destroy her first..."

"Yes, _thank you,_ Minimus," Maximus snapped.

Realizing this had been one of those questions he wasn't actually supposed to answer, Minimus laughed nervously and took a step back. This seemed like one of the moments when he should give Maximus his space. Being his sidekick, Minimus knew it was never a good idea to get too close to him when he was this angry. Unless, of course, he was looking for a very painful headache from having his head hit round. Minimus had to admit it: nobody did that better than Maximus.

"I've tried everything!" exclaimed Maximus, pacing around the room more vigorously, "Traps, death rays, dream invaders, reality shows, hypnotic cheer powers, EVERYTHING!"

Minimus stood there nervously, wondering if he should say something. "I'm sure you'll think of something eventually, your supreme vileness," he said, helpfully.

"'Eventually' isn't soon enough!" snapped Maximus, "I need a plan _now!_ I'm far too impatient to be patient!"

"Well I know you'll think of something _great_," said Minimus, sycophantically, "You're the greatest genius in the galaxy, _right?"_

Maximus rolled his eyes. Normally he loved being excessively complimented by Minimus, but right now he was too frustrated to enjoy the moment. Compliments weren't going to destroy Atomic Betty. Neither had any of his previous plots. He had tried out practically everything but the kitchen sink. And some of them had come so close. Using that satellite to control comets had been pretty genius, and creating the Betty Clones had been revolutionary, but they had still failed.

He was so sick of it! His ingenious plans, not a single one worked! He had to admit his best plan had been getting every villain in the universe to relinquish their life of crime so the Guardians disbanded, but Infantor and Iciclia had had to mess that up. Now it was back to the drawing board. As usual.

"If only there was a way I could prevent Atomic Betty ever becoming a Galactic Guardian in the first place," Maximus complained, continuing to pace the room, "Then I'd never have to worry about dealing with her!"

His whiskers perked up as he had an idea. But then he shook his head. No. Time travel was out of the question. Making a change in the past as big as that, who knew how it might affect the future? As much as he hated to admit it, Atomic Betty had actually saved his neck several times, so erasing her from history entirely would not be good for him.

"That won't work," he muttered to himself, "Or maybe I could..."

Suddenly he stopped dead. His whiskers began to twitch even more uncontrollably than ever before. He had unintentionally just struck gold.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, whipping round to face his minion, "Minimus! This may be my greatest plan yet!"

"Ooh!" exclaimed Minimus, "What is it, your most disproportionately evil one?"

"With this plan," Maximus twittered, excitedly, paying no attention to his sidekick's words, "Oh, with this plan! All this time I've been so complex, and by doing something so simple yet genius...why, Atomic Betty will be gone for good! Soon the universe will be all mine! Mwahahahaha!"

He ended his speech with an evil laugh.

"Minimus," Maximus purred, turning round, "In order to succeed, I need Atomic Betty to come to me. Call in my _special_ operatives! Mwahahahaha!"

Minimus's jaw dropped. "Oh no," he trembled, "You don't mean—"

"Yes!" declared Maximus.

He pressed a button on a handheld remote control, and the doors opened. Three redheaded girls with colour-coded eyes and dresses stepped into the room. They each had devilish expressions on their faces. Minimus's head clicked round, and his evil head twisted into a look of pure loathing. He hated those clones almost as much as Atomic Betty.

"Girls," purred Maximus, striding forward, "Daddy has a little job he needs you to do. Mwahahahaha!"

The Betty Clones giggled simultaneously! "I think this is going to be _fun!"_ grinned Roxanne.


	3. The Ultimate Plan

**Chapter 3**  
**The Ultimate Plan**

It wasn't until late in the afternoon the next day that Betty's bracelet beeped again. She, Paloma and Noah were just coming home from their band practice with Chip and Dalton Osbourne when it happened.

"Phew!" croaked Betty, wiping the sweat from her brow as she pushed open the school doors, "Am I beat!"

"That new song of yours is awesome, Betty," said Chip, giving Betty a punch on the shoulder, "I don't know where you get it from."

Betty blushed. "Thanks," she said, smiling, "But I'm no star. You're all part of the band."

"I just can't _wait_ for the talent show next month," commented Dalton, "With your song, we're gonna blow them away."

"Well, I heard Penelope's entering," said Betty, smirking, "And no matter what, we'll definitely look good after _she_ sings."

Her friends all laughed!

It was true. Penelope was just about the worst singer imaginable. Her voice sounded like a screeching bird crossed with a knife's blade scraping across a china plate. Oh, sure, she _thought_ she was the best at everything, but the time she had taken over Betty's band and tried to sing at the concert had left everyone in the audience screaming in agony with their hands over their ears. It was a moment Penelope would never forget, and certainly never live down.

Suddenly, Betty's bracelet began to light up and vibrate!

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Betty gasped!

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, "I...er...think I...left one of my music sheets in the practice room! See you guys tomorrow!"

With that, she shot back down the road towards the school and disappeared from sight.

"Yep," said Noah, smiling, as they watched her go, "That's Betty alright."

Betty flung open the school doors, ran inside, and slammed them behind her. She stopped for a few seconds to catch her breath, then, checking to make sure she was alone, turned on her bracelet. Admiral DeGill appeared in a projection.

"Atomic Betty!" he exclaimed, "We have an emergency on our hands! The Betty Clones are on the planet Nova 7!"

"The Betty Clones!?" exclaimed Betty, in horror, "Uh oh! That's not good!"

"Indeed," said Admiral DeGill, seriously, "You must go to Nova 7 and stop those troublesome triplets before it is too late!"

"I'm on it, Admiral DeGill!" declared Betty!

She saluted, then pressed a button on her bracelet, then with the same bright flash of light, was beamed up into her starcruiser.

"Maximum speed, Sparky!" she ordered, leaping up into her captain's chair, "Get us to Nova 7 as fast as you can! The Betty Clones are back!"

Sparky and X-5 both gasped!

"The Betty Clones!?" exclaimed Sparky, "Ooh, that's bad!"

"Affirmative," said X-5, "Those three clones are some of the most dangerous villains in the entire galaxy. And we all know the mastermind behind them."

"Maximus," Betty, Sparky and X-5 said, in unison.

"There's no time to lose," ordered Betty, "Get us to Nova 7 pronto!"

"Aye aye, chief!"

* * *

"Mwahahahahaha!" laughed Maximus, as Optica and Destructa carried armfuls and armfuls of bags of jewels out of the Nova 7 jewel depository while Roxanne held the guards in her rubbery coils, "This is a plan of the utmost genius! Soon there will be nothing to stop me!"

"Mwahahaha!" laughed Minimus, clapping his hands together.

Maximus scowled down at his two-faced minion.

"Oh—sorry, your most self-important one," Minimus apologized, remembering he wasn't supposed to laugh during Maximus's evil plans, "Yes, it's genius! You're a genius! Super genius! Atomic Betty will be gone for good!"

His head swivelled round to his evil side with a loud click.

"Or rather, for _evil!"_ he cackled, "Heh heh heh!"

"Once Atomic Betty comes into my grasp," grinned Maximus, rubbing his hands together, gleefully, "I shall finally receive what should have been mine long ago! Mwahahahahahaha!"

"Yay! Yippee!" cheered the Betty Clones!

Suddenly, a voice on a loudspeaker yelled from above:

"Hold it right there, Maximus!"

The ground began to shake, and the five villains looked up to see a bright red starcruiser zooming towards the ground, scattering dust and stones in all directions. Fierce winds blew through the air as it landed, nearly knocking the villains off their feet!

The side door slammed open, and Betty, Sparky and X-5 exited the starcruiser to face the villains.

"Atomic Betty," purred Maximus, "How _kind_ of you to join us. I'm _very_ grateful. It will make things _so_ much easier."

"You remember how this ended last time, don't you?" said Betty, raising an eyebrow at the feline, "Because when it comes to beating criminals, history has a strange way of repeating itself."

"We'll see about that," purred Maximus, "Oh, girls!"

Optica, Destructa and Roxanne leapt forwards, landing in the same cheerleader pyramid pose they had used for their hypnotic cheers.

Betty took a step back, and a spasm of fear crossed her face. The Betty Clones were, after all, better, stronger, much more powerful versions of her. Maximus, she could handle, but the Betty Clones had managed to both successfully kidnap her, _and_ take over Galactic Guardian Headquarters. Betty had just managed to stop them both times, of course, but they were not girls to be messed with.

Betty shook away her fears. There was no time for this. Admiral DeGill was counting on her. The galaxy was counting on her!

"Come on, boys!" she said to Sparky and X-5, "We've handled these Bettys before! Let's do it again! YAAAAAAAH!"

The Guardians and the Betty Clones leapt into battle! Optica lit up in flames and hurled two burning fireballs at Sparky, who quickly leapt up and turned a perfect somersault to avoid them. Whipping out his laxer, he blasted it at Optica, not a killing blow, but enough to knock her backwards. He kept on firing, as did Optica, every so often a blow hitting! Destructa clenched her fists and with a flash of light, transformed into her bulky rock self. She raised a fist, and with a loud CLANG, X-5 smashed into the wall of the jewel depository!

"Ooh, this is so exciting!" exclaimed Minimus, digging into a bucket of popcorn.

Roxanne threw out an arm, which instantly elongated and made a grab for Betty, who leapt out of the way as Roxanne chased her around, trying to grab her in her rubber coils.

"Yah! Hoo! Hi-yah! Hah! Hoo-ah! Hi-YAH!"

Betty punched away blow after blow from Roxanne's elongated arms, whacking her back with every one. Roxanne lunged at Betty with both hands, and Betty threw out hers, struggling to win against Roxanne as they engaged in a tense wrestling match on the ground. Putting on a burst of strength, Betty threw Roxanne off her and leapt to her feet, only for Roxanne's arm to coil round her waist and smash her into the side of the jewel depository!

SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

Roxanne smashed Betty face-first into the wall, over and over again, before raising her high and hurling her to the ground!

"Chief!" exclaimed Sparky and X-5, in horror!

Brushing the dust and stones out of her battered hair, Betty shakily got to her feet and gave a wince.

"It's alright!" she called, "I'm OK!"

"Oh no," a voice said from behind her, "I'd say you were the exact opposite!"

Betty whipped round just in time to see Maximus press a button on a remote control. A laxer beam zapped out of the antennae and hit the ground in front of Betty, forming a fizzing lazer cage around her!

"Chief!" exclaimed Sparky, "Don't worry! I'll save you!"

But before Sparky could make any moves to save Betty, Destructa grabbed him by the neck of his space suit, tossed him into the air and with a huge stone punch, sent him rocketing through the air towards X-5! The Neutropian crashed into the robot with a loud CLANG, sending them both cluttering to the floor!

Maximus strode up to them with an evil smirk on his face as they struggled to get up. He reached inside his robe and brought out a purple spray can.

"Say goodnight, boys," purred Maximus, shaking the can and spraying a puff of purple smoke into Sparky and X-5's faces.

A half-asleep expression drifted onto Sparky's face, and they both started to stagger. Slowly, all four of their eyelids drooped, and they both fell backwards onto the floor, unconscious. The excess smoke dispersed harmlessly into the air.

"Sparky! X-5!" exclaimed Betty, throwing out a hand!

"Oh, don't worry about them," Maximus drawled, striding up to the lazer cage, "_They_ will be perfectly fine. Unlike _you_. Mwahahahahahaha!"

* * *

"Nnnnng! Let me out of here!" yelled Betty, struggling against the cuffs that bound her hands to the experiment chair she had been forced into.

She was inside Maximus's citadel, strapped to one of Maximus's nefarious machines. And the worst part was, he had taken away her bracelet, so unless Sparky and X-5 turned up with a miraculously punctual rescue plan...

She was done for.

Maximus pressed a button on a control panel a few metres away from her, and a large metal suction cup descended onto her head, attached to a malevolent-looking mechanism.

"Ah!" exclaimed Betty, struggling, "In the name of the Galactic Guardians, I order you to release me!"

"Relax," crooned Maximus, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm simply going to use this machine to erase all your memories of being a Galactic Guardian. Then once I have, you won't be able to stop me from enslaving the galaxy."

He pressed a button. The machine fizzed to life and the tech above the suction cup vibrated and glowed an electric blue from the inside!

Betty gasped in horror!

"Don't worry, Atomic Betty," crooned Maximus, as he flicked the switch, "There'll be no painful memories. No memories...at all! Mwahahahahahaha!"

"No! No!" cried Betty, struggling desperately to get out of the suction cup, "Noooooo!"

The machine activated, and Betty began to scream in pain!

"Aah!" she screamed, writhing in the chair, trying desperately to free herself from the suction cup.

It felt like her head was on fire! Searing, stabbing, agonizing pains rocketed through her head, as if a thousand knives were stabbing into it! What she felt was considerable agony! As the suction cup tightened on her head and the extraction process started, it felt like the inside of her mind was being ripped out of her skull! She screamed out loud!

Maximus watched, enjoying the shrieks of pain from Betty as the machine fulfilled its extraction process. The look of agony on Betty's face slowly melted into a dreamy smile. Purple sparks fizzed around her head and the machine vibrated, making a loud whirring sound. Betty blinked sleepily and her eyes slowly closed. Maximus watched, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Extraction complete!" bleeped the computer.

Maximus pressed a button on the control panel to undo the bonds holding Betty down, and waited with bated breath. Had his machine worked?

Slowly, Atomic Betty opened her eyes and looked around the room. She rubbed her eyes, sleepily. Then her gaze fell on Maximus. "Where am I?" she asked, "Who are you?" She pointed at him.

Maximus's face lit up! His whiskers twitched with excitement. It had worked! Betty really didn't remember him! He innocently strode away from the control panel and over to Betty.

"My name is Maximus I.Q." he said, in a feigned friendly voice, "And—"

"Hi, Maximus," said Betty, "My name's Betty. Betty Barrett." She looked up. "Why am I in this chair? And what's this thing on my head?" She struggled to get it off. "Can you help me get this thing off?" she asked him.

"Oh, of course," Maximus replied, struggling to contain his delight. He pressed a button on the suction cup and it released Betty's head.

"Thanks," she said, gratefully. Then she looked down. "What's with this _outfit?"_ she said, bemusedly, "I look like some kind of space cadet." She looked around the room and then and Maximus.

"So what is this place?" she asked, "Some kind of slumber party room? Cause I _love_ your pyjamas."

"Pyjama—" Maximus looked down at his red robe, and his face contorted in fury. "UGH!" he screamed!

Why did everyone keep calling them pyjamas!? They were _not_ pyjamas! Was nobody smart enough to take in his magnificently regal bearing!? True, his robe was a bit long and droopy, but _reall_y!

"HOW DARE YOU CALL MY—" Then he broke off, remembering he was supposed to be acting like a nice person whom Betty had never met before. He forced his face into a friendly smile again. "I mean...that's very kind of you to say so, my dear," he said, his voice returning to that same syrupy tone. It was torture to speak as nicely as this, even just as a trick. "It's _very_ nice to meet you, too."

Betty smiled innocently. _Well he seems like a nice guy,_ she thought. "So where am I?" she asked Maximus, "And how did I get here?"

A look of panic suddenly struck Maximus's face. He hadn't expected her to ask so many questions.

"Well..." he tried to think of a way to stall.

Luckily, he didn't need to, because right on cue, the double doors of the room exploded, and Sparky and X-5 burst into the room!

"You're busted, Maximus!" shouted Sparky, "Now hand over the chief!"

Maximus's face twitched into a grin. He knew her friends would come and save her. He had designed that drug specifically so they would wake up at exactly the right moment. Everything was going according to plan. Quickly, Maximus shoved his hand into his inside pocket, grabbed his instant sleep ray and zapped it right in Atomic Betty's face! Her pupils began to swirl round in her sockets, then she dropped backwards and instantly fell asleep.

"Curses!" exclaimed Maximus, in a very unconvincing voice, clapping his hands to his face in mock surprise, "It's Atomic Betty's friends! I certainly hope they don't save her! All my plans would be ruined!"

In case you didn't know this, Maximus I.Q. was a very bad actor.

"Guards!" exclaimed Maximus, "Destroy them!"

Maximus's army of robot subjects immediately stopped what they were doing and charged at Sparky and X-5! Maximus watched, gleefully. You see, he knew his robots were no match for Sparky and X-5, so to them, it would seem like they were winning. All part of the plan.

X-5's boxing glove burst out of his chest, punching a bunch of robots into the wall. Sparky aimed a series of blows into every robot's circuitry, causing all them to explode!

"X-5, grab the chief!" Sparky yelled!

He whipped out his favoured pocket lazer and aimed it right at Maximus, blasting the supervillain into the wall! It hurt a lot, and singed his regal red robe, but Maximus didn't care, because his plan was working. It still hurt, though.

"Sparky! This way!" exclaimed X-5, grabbing the unconscious Betty in his arms and heading for the doors.

Sparky punched one last robot and shot after X-5.

"Rats!" exclaimed Maximus, "Come back here!"

The Supreme Evil Overlord watched from the window as Sparky and X-5 sprinted back into their starcruiser and took off from his citadel, vanishing into the starry sky.

"Suckers," purred Maximus, rubbing his hands together, gleefully.

* * *

"Chief?" Sparky queried, giving Betty a little shake, as their starcruiser glided through the stars, "Chief, can you hear me?"

Betty's eyelids didn't even flutter. She was sound asleep.

"What did he do to her?" asked Sparky, in a terrified voice, "She's gonna be OK...isn't she?"

"Hmmm." X-5 picked up her head and scanned her with his eye cameras. "Maximus zapped her with an instant sleep ray," he said, looking down at Betty, "Which are designed to keep the subject asleep for another twelve hours."

"Twelve hours?" repeated Sparky, "So in that case, do we just...take her home?"

"Affirmative," said X-5.

Minutes later, Sparky and Betty were beamed down into Betty's bedroom. Sparky lifted Betty up onto her bed and pulled the cover over her. With a satisfied nod, he pressed a button on his Galactic Guardian belt and with a flash of light, beamed up from Betty's bedroom and back into the starcruiser.

"Is the captain back home?" asked X-5, as Sparky reappeared in the teleporter.

"Yup," said Sparky, stepping out, "I hate to think what Maximus would have done to her if we hadn't gotten there. I thought we might've lost her."

"Preposterous," said X-5, "She is Atomic Betty. No villain in the universe can defeat her."

"Yeah, I know," said Sparky, "I'm just glad today wasn't an exception."

Their starcruiser shot away from the Earth and into the twinkling stars. From what they had seen, Maximus had not succeeded, and their chief was safe and alive. But what they didn't know was that things were about to reach the precipice of disaster.


	4. As Usual

**Chapter 4**  
**As Usual**

_Hoo hoo_  
_It never really rains on the moon._  
_I'm gonna get you there really soon._  
_Isn't it cool?_

_Hoo hoo_  
_You can turn the clouds into bloom._  
_You can find the power in you._  
_That's what I do._

Betty's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes to hear Missy Miss singing her favourite song, _That's What I Do._ It was the only thing that woke her up in the mornings. Betty gave a great yawn and stretched, then turned off her alarm and slid out of bed. She suddenly noticed she was already dressed in her everyday yellow jumper and green skirt, complete with her school shoes. That was odd. She must have been so tired last night that she had forgotten to change into her pyjamas before going to sleep. Betty shrugged and headed towards the bathroom to take her every morning shower.

"Good morning, sweetie!" beamed Tanya, as Betty came down the stairs a few minutes later, after taking her shower and getting redressed, "How did you sleep?"

"Well, I guess," replied Betty, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"You must have been very tired last night," mused Tanya, setting a bowl of oatmeal with raspberry jelly on top of the table, "When I got home, you were already asleep. Fully clothed, no less. You must have slept like a log."

"It was a hard day of school yesterday," said Betty, swallowing a spoonful of oatmeal, "I guess I just needed a nap."

Once she had eaten breakfast, Betty said goodbye to her mother and father, and headed off to school. As usual. On the way, she passed by the newsagents along the road to pick up some of her favourite bubblegum. As usual. Once she got to school, she went straight to her locker. As usual. She put away her bag and headed to class. As usual.

Art class was fairly good, exploring different colours, despite having to put up with Miss Dourly's outrageous and preposterous criticism.

"Useless!" exclaimed Miss Dourly, examining Noah's beautiful painting of Betty's uncle Charlie's farm, with all the pigs and horses and bales of hay, "How will you ever become a famous fine artist if all you ever draw is this...this..._uselessness!"_

She picked up a paintbrush and drew a bright red cross over Noah's painting. The paint was still wet, and the red smudged the colours, turning most of the painting into a large brown smear.

Noah's face fell. "But I don't _want_ to become a famous fine artist," he said, "I want to be a mathematician, or a scientist, or a doctor."

"Useless!" exclaimed Miss Dourly, "Mathematics! Science! Medicine! Where are they going to get you in life? Useless!"

She strode away from Noah, before stopping to examine another child's painting. After a few moments, she drew a bright red cross on that, too, ruining the child's work.

"Useless!" she announced!

Noah sighed. If somebody gave him a dollar for every time Miss Dourly had said that word, he would never have to get a job, not as a mathematician, or a scientist, nor a doctor.

Betty, meanwhile, was painting a perfect picture of the solar system, with all the planets revolving round the sun on their regular rotation pattern, and the stars and constellations perfect. It was funny...Betty had no idea why she had chosen to draw this. It had just sort of...happened. She had stopped to think for a moment and let her hand take over, and suddenly discovered she was drawing the solar system. It had been very odd. She did find space very interesting, but no more than any other aspect of science, or, indeed, any of her other interests. It sounded crazy, but it was like something else had made her do it. Something in her instincts that she was perhaps unaware of.

"Young lady!" Miss Dourly barked, marching over to Betty, "Let's see what _you_ have come up with. What is this?"

"It's the solar system," replied Betty, showing it to her teacher, "With all eight planets rotating round the sun, and all the constellations in the right place. See, there's Orion and Scorpio, and there's the Ursa Major."

Miss Dourly's response was so predictable that Betty could have said it along with her.

"Useless!"

After art was a science paper, and being so good at science, Betty totally aced it. She could tell this was a good day. Even Penelope Lang and her sidekicks' teasing about her red hair couldn't ruin it. Honestly, those three were all out of new tricks.

"I can't wait for gym class," said Betty, taking a bite out of her peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich at lunchtime, "Coach Sorenson said we'd be doing basketball this week."

Noah sighed. "I hate gym. Everything's so much easier for you two."

"Oh, don't put yourself down, Noah," chided Paloma, "I think we all know Betty and I could never test into honors math like you did."

"I guess," admitted Noah.

"You _guess_," said Betty, flatly, "Noah, you're a genius. So what if you're not the sporty type?"

After lunch, basketball in the gym class was the same as usual, with Betty's team totally smashing the competition and winning eleven-nil to Penelope's. Noah always found sport rather hard, but they won nonetheless. Penelope may have tried to get under her skin once she won, but Betty had learned a long, long time ago that anything Penelope Lang had to say about her was sure to be nonsense. Just another ordinary day of school for Betty Barrett.

"Hey, Betty," called Paloma, jogging up to her best friend after school, "Wait up."

Betty stopped so Paloma could catch up. The Hispanic girl took a look around to make sure they were out of earshot, then gave a satisfied smile.

"Juanita just can't _wait_ for the Galactic Guardian awards ceremony," said Paloma, happily, "And I bet you can't either. After all the work you do to—"

"Whoah, whoah, whoah, wait a minute," said Betty, bemusedly. "What are the "Galactic Guardians?" Some kind of club? Is Juanita getting a badge?"

Paloma stared at her. "What?" she queried, "Don't you remember about next week? The Galactic Guardian award ceremony. Where you all get your prizes for keeping the aliens safe from evil."

"Aliens?" repeated Betty. Then she laughed. "Oh, Paloma, don't be silly, there's no such thing as aliens," she smiled, walking on down the road.

Paloma stared after her.

_What?_

* * *

"With that Atomic Betty out of the way, the first step of my plan is complete," said Maximus, looking at Betty's bracelet on his wrist, gleefully, "You can cross that off, Minimus."

Minimus gave him a knowing wink, and crossed off _Phase 1: Erase Atomic Betty's memories and let her friends take her._ from the checklist.

"Phase 2," read Minimus from the second item on the checklist, "Capture all the other Galactic Guardians and make them our personal slaves. Oops!" he said, hurriedly, "I mean, _your_ personal slaves, your selfishness. So how are we—I mean, you—going to do that?"

"I need a way to get all the Galactic Guardians in one place," said Maximus, twiddling his whiskers thoughtfully, as he paced around, "And then capture them."

Then, as if a lightbulb had lit above his head, Maximus thought of the _perfect_ idea.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, "Minimus, fetch our holo-cloaking devices!"


	5. Puzzles, Plots & Preparations

**Chapter 5**  
**Puzzles, Plots And Preparations**

"We appreciate that you can speak to us on such short notice," said the head of the Galactic Council, a tall orange alien called Corrir N'Banzax, with tentacles protruding out of the top of his head instead of hair, "You have done so much for us and the galaxy owes you a lifetime debt of gratitude."

"The Guardians only do what we must," said Admiral DeGill, modestly, who was talking to the Galactic Council on the video screen, "It is reward enough for us that the galaxy is safe. So what was it you wanted to discuss with me, Corrir?"

"As you may know, coming up is the annual Galactic Guardians' award ceremony," said Corrir, "We want to make sure you and your fellow Guardians can make it to our celebration to honour your heroism and the safekeeping of our galaxy."

The tall bug-eyed green alien sitting next to Corrir, Rhemdon Scraamador, gave a menacing chuckle. Corrir gave him an elbow in the ribs and he stopped. They both gave an innocent laugh.

"I'm sure that _all_ the Galactic Guardians will be most eligible to attend," Admiral DeGill said, graciously, "We will see you at the ceremony, then. Thank you, Galactic Council."

And with that, he saluted, and the video screen went black.

"You won't get away with this, Maximus!" shouted a voice from below the podium, where the three real members of the Galactic Council were trapped in a cage, guarded by Galactic Council Guards.

A holo-cloaking device suddenly flickered and deactivated, revealing the Corrir and Rhemdon on the podium to be Maximus and Minimus, and the Galactic Council Guards to be Maximus's Blood Monks.

"Ha!" grinned Maximus, looking down from the podium at the real Galactic Council in the cage, "Those fools are walking right into _my_ trap! How could they resist such an opportunity to show the universe how _great_ and _heroic_ they truly are! This will be just _too_ easy! Mwahahahahahahaha!"

* * *

Betty Barrett sat on the settee with some soda and crisps, watching her favourite TV show. It was about the adventures of a young girl who saved the galaxy from an evil supervillain. She loved it.

_Maybe one day I'll go into space and make friends with some aliens,_ thought Betty, jokily, then smiled and shook her head. No. She was being silly. There were no such thing as aliens. And as if _she_ could ever go into space.

She turned her attention back to the show.

"You won't get away with this!" yelled the superhero, struggling against the bonds she was pinned down by.

The supervillain laughed! "Oh, but I already have!" he smirked.

_Classic,_ thought Betty, rolling her eyes.

She carried on watching. The supervillain had the girl pinned down to a wall, and was pointing a vaporising ray at her.

Hmmmm...a vaporising ray...

The girl struggled, but it was no use. Then at the last moment, she sliced through the bonds with the knives she always kept up her sleeves and leaped out of the way of the ray, the wall she had been tied to exploding in a shower of burnt fragments! Landing on her tiptoes, the girl whipped out a lazer gun from her pocket and blasted the supervillain's vaporising ray with a beam of white light, shattering it into tiny pieces!

"No!" shouted the supervillain!

The girl leaped into the air, poised into a perfect kick and slammed her foot into the supervillain's chest, knocking him off his feet! She turned a perfect backflip, landed on her hands and flipped back onto her feet and leapt at the supervillain with her fist raised!

Suddenly, Betty stopped dead.

She grabbed the remote and paused it just as the girl's fist was about to collide with the supervillain's cheek. Betty's eyes fixed on the television. She rewound it back to the part where the girl had pounced on the supervillain and beaten him up, and watched it again. That move the girl had done. There was something...familiar about it. She didn't know what it was, but seeing that move had triggered something in her. A memory, maybe? She didn't know. Betty couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she had a funny feeling that _she_ had once done that move herself.

Slowly, not quite sure what she was doing, Betty got to her feet, her eyes fixed on the girl on the television. As if controlled by a remote control, she leaped up and kicked an invisible opponent.

"Ya! Hi-ya! Hah! Hoo! Hi-YA!"

She sliced through the air with her hands and feet as she leaped light as a feather across the room, copying the girl's moves.

Yes! Yes! She had _definitely_ done this before! But when? There were no Martial Arts schools in Moose Jaw Heights, and she had certainly never been to one anywhere else. Why did these moves she was doing seem so familiar?

Try as she might, Betty couldn't remember learning anything to do with this. But she had definitely done it before. She knew it. She just knew it.


	6. The Galactic Guardians Award Ceremony

**Chapter 6**  
**The Galactic Guardians Award Ceremony**

"Now don't forget to smile when you're onstage," said Zulia, fondly, as she walked down the platform towards the entrance of the Galactic Council's Headquarters with Sparky.

"Yes, mom!" exclaimed Sparky, exasperatedly, "Just keep out of my way and don't embarrass me when I'm onstage, OK?"

"OK, hon," Zulia said, fondly, then spotted X-5 get out of B-1's battered old spaceship from Crushton, then help B-1 out, "Oh, look, Sparky, there's your friend!"

"Hey, X-5!" hollered Sparky, "Over here!"

Spotting Sparky and Zulia, X-5 and B-1 came over.

"Hi, there, B-1," said Zulia, "I haven't seen you since we stopped that Maximus from stealing the No-L 9 last Christmas. You're looking well."

"This good old nephew of mine fixed me up with some new sparkplugs," said B-1, patting X-5 on the head, "Feeling good as new."

"You don't _look_ good as new," smirked Sparky, before Zulia gave him a hit with her handbag, and he shut up.

"Oh, look, X-5!" he exclaimed, pointing at a yellow one-eyed robot getting out of a long yellow spaceship, "It's your old buddy X-8.5!"

X-5 looked over and gasped! His eyes narrowed with loathing as they fell upon the party-obsessed robot who had come with the ship Admiral DeGill had asked them to test a few years ago.

"May I suggest we move along," said X-5, tightly, speeding up his pace.

"Why?" smirked Sparky, "Are you jealous?"

Rather than answering that, X-5 glanced away, and spotted a familiar-looking orange starcruiser land on the ground. The door opened, and a brownish-red skinned Galactic Guardian with two large horns protruding from the sides of her head, and an old-school looking green robot with _X-3_ printed on its chest strode out of it.

"Oh look, Sparky," said X-5, pointing to the two Guardians exiting the orange starcruiser, "It's Carly and X-3. Those two Guardians you were assigned as your crew when you became a captain, who witnessed your _ridiculous_ attempt to stop Nuclea from drilling out the Bangoon sun."

Sparky clenched his teeth in fury. That had been one of the most humiliating moments of his life, and X-5 had never let him forget it.

"Touché," he said, between his teeth.

Suddenly, a little voice sounded from behind them. "Well, if it isn't my old friend Sparky. And X-5, too. How are you two doing?"

The two friends turned round to see a small Hispanic girl with big adorable brown eyes striding down the platform next to them. Sparky gasped, and his eyes narrowed with loathing.

"Juanita," he spat, looking at Paloma's unthinkably adorable little sister, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Uh, I'm a Galactic Guardian," Juanita said, flatly, "I'm here for the awards ceremony. Why are _you_ here, Sparky?"

"To be awarded!" snapped Sparky.

"Really?" said Juanita, "I never would have guessed."

Sparky scowled and pushed Juanita out of the way, and he and X-5 continued down the platform.

"It's so considerate of the Galactic Council to do this for us," said X-5, as he and Sparky scouted the crowd for any sign of Betty, "Although I'm certain Betty will still be the centre of attention. She deserves it. The galaxy owes most of its safety to her."

"Yeah, yeah, she'll get the best for the best," said Sparky, dismissively, "I just want to see what I get this year! Maybe a lifetime supply of Budonkian pig snouts!"

"Ahem," said X-5, tonelessly, "The Galactic Council does not deliver _those_ kind of prizes."

"They don't!?" exclaimed Sparky, stopping dead, "Then what in the cosmos are we doing here!?"

"To hold up our Galactic Guardian honour and show the galaxy how much we care," said X-5, tonelessly.

"'To hold up our Galactic Guardian honour and...'" mimicked Sparky, "Bored now!"

Up from the highest room of Galactic Council Headquarters, Maximus I.Q. and his minions were watching as the Guardians all arrived.

"Such an ingenious plan," Maximus purred, "Once they are all in my grasp, there won't be a single being in the galaxy who will be able to stand up against the great Maximus I.Q.! The universe will soon be all mine! Mwahahahahahaha!"

"And then can we each get our own phones?" asked Optica, hopefully.

"And I still don't have my own bedroom!" said Destructa, "I'm so sick of sharing with Optica and Roxanne!"

"And I want an iPod!" added Roxanne, "When can I get that?"

"And I need new lipstick!" added Optica, "Destructa's always stealing mine!"

"It looks better on me than you, dork!" Destructa snarled at Optica.

"It's my lipstick, and I'm the most beautiful!" snapped Optica, "You might as well wear a paper bag over your ugly head!"

"You take that back right away, you disgrace to fashion!" screamed Destructa!

"GIRLS!" bellowed Maximus, "I'll buy you all the lipstick in the universe just as soon as I dominate it, OK!? Now please be quiet!"

The Betty Clones instantly fell into silence.

"You care about universal domination more than us," pouted Destructa.

"Of _course_ I don't," Maximus assured them, putting his hand on Optica and Destructa's cheeks, "You three are _my_ kittens, nothing could _ever_ be more important than that."

He turned away from them and gagged violently. He really couldn't believe he'd just said that, but he needed The Betty Clones' help to enslave the universe, so he had to keep up the nice act.

Minimus gave a little chuckle.

"I heard that!" snapped Maximus, and whacked Minimus on the head, making it spin round.

They both pressed a button and their holo-cloaks activated, once again disguising themselves as two members of the Galactic Council.

"Come, Minimus," he purred, "Come girls. I believe there are some guests waiting for their _ultimate_ prize! Mwahahahahahaha!"

* * *

Sparky and X-5 headed through the space station with Zulia and B-1, until they finally reached the right door. Pushing it open, they entered the award ceremony room, in which was seated all the Galactic Guardians of the universe: Admiral DeGill, Spindly Tam Kanushu, Atomic Roger, the Bangoons, Admiral DeGill's lady friends the Rockettes, Atomic Betty's fan club the Junior Galactic Guardians League, the Galactic Guardian Academy's most famous instructor Commander McSlim, Carly, X-3, X-8.5 and Juanita.

Sparky spotted Betty sitting on the front row, and the two friends headed over to join her.

"Hiya, chief!" exclaimed Sparky, sitting down with X-5 on the seats next to Betty, "It's great to see you. I'm glad you're OK after being zapped by Maximus."

"It—is—very—good—to—see—you—too—Sparky—and—X—5," Betty bleeped, in a metallic robot voice.

"Huh?" Sparky said, in confusion.

Betty's holograph flickered, and then her head spun round and her eyes glowed red.

"Robo-Betty!" exclaimed Sparky, "I thought you were the chief!"

"An un-der-stand-a-ble mis-i-den-t-i-fi-ca-tion," said Robo-Betty, nodding, understandingly.

"But if she's Robo-Betty," Sparky said, looking around the room, "Then where's the real chief?"

"I'm sure she'll be here soon," said X-5, "It's not like her to miss such an important occasion."

The lights in the room suddenly dimmed, and Corrir N'Banzax stepped up to the podium on the stage.

"Galactic Guardians," he said, graciously to the audience, "The Galactic Council welcomes you to your doom—I mean, to the annual awards ceremony."

Sparky's head tilted in confusion.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the heroism of you all," Corrir carried on, "And particularly the most successful team of Guardians in the galaxy: Atomic Betty, along with her friends Sparky and X-65."

"That would be X-_5_," corrected X-5.

"Who's the head of the council, tin-top!?" snapped Corrir, slamming his fist down onto the top of the podium, "Me or you!?"

X-5 jumped back against his seat.

"I mean..." Corrir said, hurriedly, "Pardon my math. Sparky and _X-5."_

Sparky scratched his chin. Maybe it was just him, but there was something very familiar about Corrir's voice. Something _very_ familiar. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he didn't think it was good.

"Anyway, let's get to the point," Corrir said, "We are all here to celebrate the Guardians' victory."

The moment he said that, Corrir's smile twisted into a wicked smirk.

"Or, more appropriately," he grinned, "Their doom! Mwahahahahahaha!"

And with that, he slammed his fist onto a button, and the holo-cloak deactivated, revealing himself as Maximus I.Q. and Rhemdon as Minimus! The Guardians all gasped! All the doors in the room slammed shut and the holo-cloak revealed all the Galactic Council guards to be Maximus's Blood Monks! The Guardians all screamed!

"Seize them!" bellowed Maximus, "I want them all captured!"

Sparky gasped! "It's a trap!" he exclaimed!

"You think?" said X-5, sarcastically.

The Galactic Guardians screamed and rushed for the doors, but they were locked, and Maximus's Blood Monks leapt out in front.

"Gonna make us do this the hard way, huh?" said Sparky, his eyes narrowing, "Hi-YA!"

He aimed a blow at a Blood Monk's head, and with a loud SMASH! it slammed into the wall!

"Capture them!" bellowed Maximus!

Blood Monks surrounded them and prepared to strike, but X-5's boxing glove popped out of his chest, sending three Blood Monks flying! Sparky whipped out a pair of nun-chucks, leapt up and swung them both into the face of a Blood Monk, knocking it off its feet, before another grabbed him round the middle!

"X-5!" yelled Sparky!

Whipping round, X-5 raised his hands and two boxing gloves popped out of them. He raised a fist, and the Blood Monk holding Sparky slammed into the wall! The two heroes leapt back as more Blood Monks advanced on them!

"Do these things ever stop coming!?" exclaimed Sparky, leaping up and planting a kick right up a Blood Monk's face!

X-5 opened his arms and began to spin round like a top as fast as lightning, heading right for the approaching Blood Monks! Crashes and clangs occurred all over the ceremonial room as dozens were thrown all over the walls!

"Hi-YA!" screamed Sparky, hurling a Blood Monk into another three, "Come on, X-5!"

X-5 smashed two Blood Monks' heads together and leapt past another's grip to join Sparky!

Maximus laughed as they bolted for the exit. "What are you going to do?" he smirked, "_I_ have your friends!"

Sparky and X-5's faces fell in dismay when they realized he was right. The rest of the Guardians were trapped, struggling against Maximus's forces. They couldn't leave now. Not now their friends were in danger. Just as they paused, two Blood Monks loomed up behind them and seized them both in a grip like steel!

"Aah!" screamed Sparky, struggling to get out of the Blood Monks' hold, "Get off me!"

"Don't waste your time struggling," said Maximus, idly, "I've already won."

"Not yet you haven't!" snapped Admiral DeGill, turning on his communicator bracelet, "Atomic Betty!" he called frantically into it, "Come in, Atomic Betty!" He tried to communicate, but nothing but static came through. "Atomic Betty! Where are you!? We need your help!"

"Oh," purred Maximus, "Are you perhaps looking for...THIS!?"

He yanked down the sleeve of his robe, revealing Atomic Betty's bracelet vibrating on his wrist!

The Guardians all gasped!

"What have you done with Betty!?" yelled Sparky, struggling against the Blood Monks' grip, "Where is she!?"

"I have done nothing with her," said Maximus, calmly, "I merely took her bracelet, and have not laid a claw on her since."

That was very much true.

"Now I hope you don't mind, but we're going to start doing things a little differently from now on," he purred, striding over to the cornered Guardians, "First order of business: all Galactic Guardians are now _my_ property. _And_ you will turn over your precious headquarters to me!"

The Guardians gasped. "Never!" shouted Admiral DeGill.

"Perhaps you'll change your mind once I say this," Maximus said, casually, "Any Guardian who objects is to be _destroyed_. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you how many excruciating ways I could do that in."

Zulia scowled and put her hands on her hips. "Hmph! I've heard of boyfriends turning on their exes, but this is just _ridiculous!"_

All the other Guardians gasped! "WHAT!?" they shrieked!

"Don't ask," said Maximus, flatly.

Zulia scowled.

"Blood Monks!" ordered Maximus, "Take them away!"

Maximus's elite forces seized the Galactic Guardians and marched them towards the doorway. As Zulia passed, she stamped Maximus on the foot. He gave a yelp of pain! She was in _high heels,_ no less. Maximus winced as he watched Zulia exit along with the other Guardians.

Yeesh. Beautiful, but deadly.

* * *

"X-5," whispered Sparky, struggling against the grip of Maximus's elite forces, "What do we do?"

"Statistically, the odds of escaping from this situation is one in two hundred and twenty six point five," said X-5, knowledgeably.

"That makes me feel confident," said Sparky, sarcastically.

"No talking!" barked the Blood Monk holding Sparky!

Sparky gritted his teeth as all the Guardians were marched towards a rather ordinary-looking spaceship they had seen on their way in. Maximus pressed a button on a remote and the ship's holograph flickered, revealing it to be none other than his malevolent black starcruiser with the bright red M for Maximus on the front.

"Into the spaceship, now!" ordered Maximus, as the Blood Monks marched the rest of the Galactic Guardians up the ramp, "All of you! Chop chop!"

"Congratulations, your vileness!" exclaimed Minimus, plodding up to his master as they both headed up the ramp themselves, "Your plan worked!"

"Was there ever any doubt?" asked Maximus, with an arrogant smirk, as his Blood Monks marched his captives into a large cage.

He turned to the ship's controls and pressed a few buttons. There was a loud revving sound as the ship's engines fired up, and the room began to shake and vibrate as the ship began to rise up off the ground!

"This is our last chance, X-5!" exclaimed Sparky, "If we don't get out now, we're done for!"

Suddenly, he had an idea! Summoning all the energy inside him, he managed to throw out a hand! "YAH!" His hand glowed bright green, and the Blood Monk holding him was enveloped in a green aura! "HIIIIIIII-YAH!" He hurled his hand round, the ancient mystical magic of Spindly Tam Kanushu's slamming the Blood Monk into the side of the ship!

"X-5, QUICK!" Sparky shrieked!

The Blood Monk holding X-5 whipped its head round, its grip on X-5 slightly loosening due to the surprise! That was all X-5 needed! He threw out a mechanical arm, zapping the Blood Monk with five hundred volts of electricity! It screamed and crumpled onto the floor, unconscious!

"Quickly!" Sparky shrieked, as he and the robot bolted for the closing ramp as the ship rose up into the air!

"Go, Sparky! Run!" exclaimed Zulia!

"NO!" roared Maximus, throwing out a hand!

The door of the ship closed just as Sparky and X-5 leapt out of the exit! They landed with a painful SMACK on the stone ground! Without further ado, they leapt to their feet and bolted away from Maximus's ship.

Maximus grabbed his communicator from his pocket. "Blood Monks!" he bellowed, "Get those two Guardians! I want them ALL captured!"

"We've gotta get to the starcruiser!" yelled Sparky, as he and X-5 sped towards the docking bay, "We've gotta find the chief so she can stop him!"

"Look out!" exclaimed X-5, leaping at Sparky and pushing him out of the way as one of Maximus's ships fired a death ray at him.

"Thanks!" exclaimed Sparky, "Now RUNNNN!"

They ran for their life towards the docking bay, dodging the lightning-fast beams of scorching energy zapping after them.

"They think they can try to destroy us!?" snapped Sparky, "Let's give them a taste of their own medicine!"

With that, he whipped out his pocket lazer and zapped it at one of the Blood Monks' ships! The blast hit the ship squarely in the death ray, causing the entire thing to explode!

He aimed his lazer right at Maximus's ship, but then whimpered and his hand faltered.

"What are you waiting for?" asked X-5, "Shoot!"

"I...I can't!" whimpered Sparky, "My mamoolah's in there! And so are all our friends!"

Maximus's ship warmed up, and something bright red glowed inside his death ray!

"Get in, Sparky!" called X-5, grabbing Sparky by his collar and yanking him into the ship!

The engines vibrated and glowed with life as the ship turned on! Maximus's death ray warmed up and fired, just as their ship blasted off, missing the starcruiser's red surface by centimetres!

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" yelled Sparky, yanking the steering wheel and avoiding the blast.

Their ship shot into the stars with Maximus's armada in hot pursuit!

"Take THAT!" yelled Sparky, blasting a ship with the starcruiser's lazer, "And THIS! And some of THIS! And one of THOSE!"

Several of Maximus's ships exploded with a blast from the lazer, sending dozens of hot, charred fragments hurling out into the space!

"There's too many of them!" yelled Sparky, avoiding another blast from Maximus's death ray.

"Sparky, Maximus has the upper hand," said X-5, typing frantically into the ship's computer, "We must go to Earth and find Betty so she can save the galaxy!"

"First we have to lose _Cat Boy!"_ snapped Sparky, yanking the steering wheel so the ship dodged Maximus's death ray, "If we go and find the chief now, he'll find out her home planet! Then we'll all be doomed!"

"That's the smartest thing I've heard you say in a long time," said X-5, tonelessly.

"Thanks," snapped Sparky, as he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and yanked the steering wheel round to dodge the dozens of death rays that were shooting at them from the ships, "Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

* * *

"I've got you now," purred Maximus, his eyes fixed on the red starcruiser in front of his ship, "Soon the universe will be mine!"

"Will you let us out of here!" snapped Zulia, who was still in the cage with the other Guardians, "You know it's really not nice to throw people in cages!"

Maximus rolled his eyes. "Ugh. This is universal domination, _darling_, it's not _supposed_ to be nice."

"Oh, whatever," muttered Zulia, "And don't call me "darling."

"Fine," said Maximus, coolly, "Now all of you enjoy the pleasure of watching the destruction of your _dear_ fellow Guardians."

* * *

"They're gaining on us!" screamed Sparky, as their ship shot through the stars with Maximus's armada in hot pursuit, "We've gotta find somewhere to hide!"

"Asteroid field dead ahead!" exclaimed X-5, pointing to a bright red cluster of space rocks hurtling towards them as they sped away from Maximus, "Deploy evasive corkscrew manoeuvre!"

"On it!" yelled Sparky, yanking the steering wheel round, sending the ship hurling into the asteroid field spinning round at top speed!

"WHOA-O-AH-O-AH-O-AH-O-AH!"

Their entire ship catapulted through the asteroid field, rocketing round and round as as if it were caught in a tumbledryer spinning at a million miles per hour! Maximus's armada shot after them in hot pursuit! Asteroids came from every angle, and one of Maximus's ships crashed right into one in an explosion of burning sparks!

"It's working!" yelled Sparky, increasing the starcruiser's hyperboost, dodging inbetween asteroids, "We're losing them!"

* * *

"MASTER!" shrieked Minimus, his head spinning round and round as their ship swerved in and out of the asteroids at lightning speed, dozens of their armada's spacecruisers crashing into them, "We're running out of ships!"

"They won't get away from me!" bellowed Maximus, shaking his fist at the bright red starcruiser, "Deploy the death ray, Minimus! Mwahahahahahaha!"

Minimus slammed a hand down onto the red button, and Maximus cackled maniacally as their beam fired!

* * *

"Incoming blast!" X-5 exclaimed, pointing a mechanical arm to their video screen!

"There's nowhere to go!" shrieked Sparky, trying desperately to dodge the moon-sized space rocks as they hurtled through space, "Engage shields! ENGAGE SHIELDS!"

But it was too late!

BOOM!

There was a huge explosion as Maximus's death ray collided with Betty's starcruiser, sending it flying out of the asteroid field!

* * *

"Mwahahahahahaha!" laughed Maximus, "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

All the Guardians gasped in horror!

"You won't get away with this, Maximus!" shouted Admiral DeGill through the bars of the cage.

"Oh, but I already have," replied Maximus, coolly, "And this time I mean it!"

"You'll be sorry you ever joined that dating service, mister," muttered Zulia, crossing her arms.

Maximus rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Mayday! Mayday! The ship is losing altitude!" X-5 exclaimed, as their ship hurtled down towards a nearby grey planet, "Collision with planet in approximately 10.46 seconds!"

"INCOMING!" shrieked Sparky!

There was a loud CRASH! and everything went black.


	7. An Old Friend

**Chapter 7**  
**An Old Friend**

"Ugggghhhhh..." murmured Sparky.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on a rocky desolate ground, with huge crags of rock sticking out of the ground here and there. Their starcruiser lay considerably dented on the ground about a hundred metres away. X-5 was at the side, using a welding torch to seal up one of the large slices in the side.

"Oh, good," said X-5, taking off his welding mask and coming over to Sparky, "You're awake."

"X-5?" Sparky said, wearily, sitting up and gingerly rubbing his eyes, "What happened?"

"After escaping Maximus, the ship crashed into this planet, and you lost consciousness," said X-5, "Maximus has most likely enslaved most of the galaxy by now."

"What? That's ridiculous," snorted Sparky, dismissively, "Nobody could do that in such a short time."

"Actually, you've been asleep for three days," said X-5.

Sparky's jaw dropped. "THREE DAYS!?" he shrieked, jumping up in horror, "WHAT!?"

"I said you've been asleep for—"

"Yes, _thank you,_ Mr. Wikipedia, I heard you the first time!" snapped Sparky, standing up and brushing the rock dust off his space suit, "So where the heck are we?"

"According to my readings, we are somewhere in the Ocean of Cosmic Dust," reported X-5, looking around at the spectacular scenery of rocks and smaller rocks.

"The Ocean of Cosmic Dust?" repeated Sparky, "Hmmmmm...why does that name sound so familiar to me?"

"And when we crashed, we lost our Neutomic Crystals," said X-5, "Which means we are stuck."

"UGH! How could this day _possibly_ get any worse!?" exclaimed Sparky.

"All our friends and family could have been captured by a notorious galactic supervillain," said X-5, tonelessly, "And the galaxy be vulnerable to total domination."

"Thanks, X-5," said Sparky, sarcastically, "That makes me feel a _lot_ better. So what do we do!? We've gotta do something! We've gotta find some way to fix the ship! We can't let Maximus take over the universe!"

Then he had an idea.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, "Maybe there's someone on this planet who can help us! Maybe they even have some spare Neutomic Crystals!"

"Ahem," said X-5, tonelessly, "You do know that the Ocean of Cosmic Dust is uninhabited, don't you?"

Sparky was silent for a moment. "I knew that," he said, defensively, "I was just testing you."

"I have examined the ship thoroughly these past three days, and much of its damage is repaired," said X-5, "But due to our lack of Neutomic Crystals, our odds of getting off this planet are...zero. Maximus has won."

"But the Galactic Guardians always win!" exclaimed Sparky, "There's gotta be _something_ we can do!"

"Did you not hear me?" said X-5, tonelessly, "There is nothing we can do. I have examined the ship from top to bottom these past three days, and without Neutomic Crystals, it is unrepairable. We will be marooned on this planet forever. Sigh."

"Well you're a barrel of laughs today!" snapped Sparky, "I don't care what you say! There's gotta be something we can do! I'm gonna go for a walk! And I'm not coming back until I think of something!"

With that, Sparky stomped off into the maze of rocks and pinnacles with his hands in his pockets, leaving X-5 behind by the ship.

"You will be out there for a long time, then," said X-5, flatly.

Sparky didn't care. He kept walking through the maze of rocks. Secretly he was very scared, and actually, he thought X-5 was right. They probably were stuck here forever, and Maximus probably had won. But he was never going to give X-5 the satisfaction of hearing Sparky admit he was right. He was going to think of a way to get out of this or die trying.

_Alright,_ thought Sparky, striding past the boulders and looking around, _How do we get off this planet?_

He racked his brains for a solution as he fast-walked through the maze of rocks. But try as he might, he couldn't think of anything that involved not using Neutomic Crystals. This was impossible. Why did they have to have crash-landed in this middle-of-nowhere planet? Why couldn't they have crash-landed on Celebra, or Morbidia, or Glucosa?

Mmmm...Glucosa.

Sparky licked his lips as he thought of the delicious chocolate rivers of Glucosa, and it's mouthwatering treats. He would give anything to have landed there. Even if they were marooned, he'd still have a lifetime supply of candies and chocolates to eat.

_And plus, there's more on Glucosa than just piles of rocks,_ Sparky thought, looking around at the grey scenery.

Rocks. Boulders. Stones. Pebbles. Minerals. Sediments. More rocks.

_Honestly, maybe this planet should be called the Palace of Rocks,_ he thought, crossly.

His anger ebbed away, and the Neutropian began to feel a cold empty pit in his stomach. He sank down to the ground and shivered.

The Ocean of Cosmic Dust. This planet was well-named. From the ancient, cracked stone columns towering above him into the dark, empty sky, to the cold, windswept grounds. Just looking at it made the little hope he had left inside of him die out. It was a place of nothingness. A cold stone prison scattered with dust and broken dreams. An empty wasteland where all hopes died, and the cold wind whispered nothing but loneliness. What if they couldn't get off this planet? What if they couldn't save the universe from Maximus? Sparky's lip trembled as he thought of his beloved mamoolah, trapped in the clutches of a fiendish supervillain. He hugged his knees close to his chest, shaking as he tried to ignore the howling wind. X-5 was right. Maximus had already won. They would never get off the planet, and would eventually starve to death. They would never see Betty, or their friends and family again. Not to mention leaving the universe in Maximus's grasp. Tears streamed down his green cheeks.

Sparky suddenly jolted out of of all his terrifying thoughts when he heard something.

He put his hand to his ear and listened out. It was very quiet and Sparky could only just hear it, but there was definitely a sound coming from somewhere in the middle of all those rocks. It sounded a bit like someone crying. Sparky's eyes widened when he heard it. It seemed there was someone else here after all!

The crying sound became louder as Sparky made his way through the rocks. Then he turned a corner and his eyes widened in astonishment. Sitting by a pool of red quicksand, crying to its heart content, was a tiny four-legged creature with a red coat and only one eye. Its head was shaped similar to an upside-down triangle, and its hair stuck out like fire. It had a small bushy red tail and orange claws, and its chest was a lighter shade of red to its coat.

Sparky rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things. But he wasn't. He stared at the creature in disbelief. Could it be?

"Is that..._Slirps?"_

* * *

Maximus strode down the corridors of his glorious citadel, which was not only flourishing in subsequence to his annihilation of his enemies, but was now being worked on hand and foot by his newest collection of slaves.

"Carly! Atomic Roger! Go and sort out my newly stolen death rays!" he ordered.

"Yes, master!" exclaimed Carly.

"Yes, master!" exclaimed Roger.

They both scuttled off to Maximus's weapons room.

"Junior Galactic Guardians! Go and count all the money I stole today and then tell me how much there is!" he ordered, moving onto the rest of his slaves.

"But...we can't count so good!" exclaimed the Junior Galactic Guardians League, simultaneously.

"Well, this will be an excellent opportunity for you to practice, then, won't it?" Maximus said, with a mocking expression, "Go!"

They immediately ran off.

"Ex-Admiral DeGill," Maximus purred, "Go and take the fifty thousand jewels I stole from the Galactic Jewel Depository into my storeroom."

DeGill groaned, but obeyed.

"Zulia." Maximus's eyes wavered over to his ex-girlfriend. "My shoes need polishing."

Zulia eyed Maximus with a look of pure loathing. "What if I don't _want_ to?" she said, sarcastically.

Maximus raised his eyebrows. "Darling, you're more stubborn than I thought," he said, just as sarcastically, "But I stand by what I said before. Any Guardian who objects..." He tiptoed his fingers down her long nose. "Will. Be. Destroyed." He gave her forehead a playful flick. "Now, why don't you go get that shoe polish?"

He ruffled her hair annoyingly, then walked on.

Zulia was bursting to say she would rather be destroyed than work for a bag of slime like him, but caught herself just in time. She shot a look of utmost hatred at Maximus, before plodding off to get some shoe polish.

_Oh, Sparky,_ she thought as she polished Maximus's shoes, _I hope you're having better luck than I am._

* * *

Sparky stared in astonishment at the tiny red creature sobbing at the edge of the red quicksand pit. He couldn't believe it. _Slirps._ After all this time. The day they had met, which was also the last time Sparky had seen him...it was such a long time ago that Sparky had completely forgotten about it. And what he had done...

"Slirps?"

The little red creature looked up, and slowly turned round, with a wide eye.

"Is that you?" Sparky said, slowly, approaching his old friend.

"W-what?" Slirps said, staring up at Sparky in intrigue.

"Slirps, it's me, your old friend Sparky," Sparky said, gesturing to himself, "Do you remember? We met when I'd crash-landed here with X-5 and the chief a few years back."

"Sparky?" Slirps' eye opened in curiosity, then narrowed in anger! "Sparky! Slirps remember!" he growled, "Slirps remember what Sparky did to him!"

A hiss escaped his rounded teeth, and the ground began to shake! Sparky stumbled back, trying to stay on his feet!

"Whoah, whoah, whoah, there's no need for anger, Slirps!" exclaimed Sparky, putting his hands up in alarm, "Come on, calm down! We can work this out rationally!"

Slirps' jaw slowly relaxed, and the ground began to stop shaking so violently. Sparky gave a sigh of relief as the volcanoes settled down. Then Slirps' lip began to quiver. His one eye drooped, and his expression turned crestfallen! He began to sob loudly, burying his head in his hands, tears dripping onto the stone ground

"Slirps, are you OK?" said Sparky, worried about the red creature's sudden change in emotion.

"Leave Slirps alone!" Slirps shouted, tears streaming down from his face, "Slirps not want to see you!"

"But don't you remember back then?" asserted Sparky, "Don't you remember the fun we had together? We were friends!"

"Not friends anymore!" sobbed Slirps, burying his face in his hands, "You and friends left without saying goodbye! You left Slirps all alone!"

"We had to," Sparky tried to say, "We had to get the crystals back to Headquarters. We didn't have any other choice."

"You said you were Slirps's friends!" sobbed Slirps, "You lied to Slirps!"

A horrid pang of guilt stabbed through Sparky's heart. Slirps was right. Sparky had promised to never leave him alone again, and after he had saved their lives and helped them complete their mission, they had abandoned him. Sparky had never in his life lost a friend. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like. To be so joyful, and then be...alone. With no friends. Nobody to make him happy.

Wait a minute..._happy!_

"Of course!" Sparky exclaimed, clapping his hands to his head, "When you gets happy, this place turns into a paradise of Neutomic Crystals! That's IT!"

"Why Sparky talk about that now?" Slirps sobbed, "Slirps not happy! Slirps never be happy again!"

"Listen, Slirps," said Sparky, apologetically, "I'm sorry. I felt so bad about leaving you, I really did. And I meant to come back at some point. Honest. Being a Galactic Guardian is hard work."

The only reply Sparky got was Slirps's outburst of uncontrollable sobbing.

"Listen, Slirps, me and X-5 are in big trouble," said Sparky, over Slirps's cries, "And the universe is in even bigger trouble. Maximus has our friends and he's gonna take over the universe if we don't stop him."

Hearing the infamous name of the Supreme Evil Overlord, Slirps stopped crying for a second. "Maximus?" he said, in a deadly whisper, "Maximus who shoot death rays at Slirps and lie to him about being friends?"

"Who else?" exclaimed Sparky, "Only the baddest bad guy in the history of bad guys! He's kidnapped all the Galactic Guardians, and I think he's done something to Betty too!"

Slirps's eye narrowed, and a growl escaped his throat. "Maximus evil!" he growled.

"Exactly! Please, Slirps, we're desperate!" begged Sparky, "We could really use your help!"

"Why should Slirps help you?" snapped Slirps, turning his back on Sparky.

"Because you're my friend," said Sparky, sadly, "I just wish _I_ had been a better one to _you_."

Slirps stopped. He looked round at Sparky and wiped the tears from his eye.

"I'm so sorry," said Sparky, apologetically, "Will you give me a second chance? Come on, Slirps, it's me. Your old buddy Sparky. Now how about a big old hug?"

He opened his arms to Slirps.

Slirps gave a sniff and then a big beaming smile crawled onto his face! "Awwwwww! Sparky!" he squealed! And with that, he pounced on Sparky and gave him a great big hug! "Slirps missed you so much!" squealed Slirps, squeezing Sparky with all the strength he could muster.

"I missed you too!" laughed Sparky, hugging his old friend tightly.

As they hugged and Slirps laughed through it, the rocky desolate scene of the Ocean of Cosmic Dust shifted to a beautiful paradise! The cold rocky terrain became a sea of lush green grass, the howling wind becoming a fresh summer breeze! Colourful flowers dotted the fields like jewels twinkling off a diamond tiara, and vines bearing brightly-coloured fruit curled around the leafy trees. Sparkling crystal-clear waterfalls flowed at every turn, splashing down from the craggy crevasses into the gurgling river beneath them. Scores of Neutomic Crystals grew from every spot, gleaming as they were bathed in the sunlight bouncing off them.

"Slirps so happy! Slirps so happy!" squealed Slirps, bouncing up and down.

"Slirps, old buddy," said Sparky, "You've just saved our lives!"

"X-5!" exclaimed Sparky, a minute later, sprinting over the lush vegetation towards his starcruiser with Slirps scampering by his side, "You'll never believe who I found!"

X-5 turned round and his eyes widened in astonishment.

"Is that..._Slirps?"_ he said, in disbelief.

"Yep," replied Sparky, proudly.

"Slirps remember you!" exclaimed Slirps, bouncing up and down, "You were Slirps' friend too!"

"You know what this means, X-5!?" exclaimed Sparky, excitedly, "We can get off this planet!"


	8. Undercover Sparky

**Chapter 8**  
**Undercover Sparky**

"Here friends go!" Slirps declared, handing X-5 a bundle of Neutomic Crystals he had collected, "Slirps at your service!"

"Excellent!" X-5 said, approvingly, taking the crystals to the back of the spaceship. He opened up the back and slotted the crystals into the power generator. "These will get us up into space!"

It had taken hours of work and gruelling labor, and Slirps, Sparky and X-5's bodies ached from using wrenches and welding torches to seal up the cracks and repair the smashed controls, but the starcruiser was fixed, looking sleek and good as new! The destroyed generator was wired up spick and span, and thanks to the Neutomic Crystals, they were ready to take off!

"Ship looking great!" Slirps said, admiring the repaired starcruiser, "Slirps like!"

"Thanks so much for all your help, Slirps," said Sparky, giving his friend a tight hug, "We couldn't have done it without you."

"Awwww, Slirps happy to help!" Slirps said, beaming and hugging Sparky back.

"We'll never forget this, Slirps," Sparky said, smiling as he broke away, "But we really have to go now."

Slirps's eye widened, and his smile vanished! The lush paradise faded away into the rocky desolate landscape as he burst into a fit of tears! "Don't go!" he sobbed, clinging onto Sparky's leg, "Don't leave Slirps!"

"Slirps, we have to go," said Sparky, "The universe depends on it."

Slirps began to cry even louder, and he held onto Sparky's leg more tightly. "Don't go!" he wailed, "Don't leave Slirps all alone again!"

"I really have to go," said Sparky, trying to prise Slirps off him, "But don't worry. I _promise_ I'll come back and visit you, OK, Slirps?"

As Sparky said that, Slirps slowly loosened his grip on Sparky's leg and wiped the tears from his eye. "Promise?" he asked.

"Promise. We'll be friends forever, Slirps," Sparky promised him, "Friends forever."

"Friends forever!" squealed Slirps, bouncing up and down, excitedly, "Sparky and Slirps best friends forever!"

The scenery rippled, and the desolate grey became a burst of colour again.

"Bye, Slirps," called Sparky, heading back onto the starcruiser, "And thanks for all your help."

He suddenly felt a weight fall onto this leg. He turned round to see Slirps hanging off his leg again.

"Slirps," he said, tonelessly.

"Just one last hug for Slirps?" Slirps asked, opening his arms, hopefully.

"Oh, alright," sighed Sparky, "But just one more."

He wrapped his arms around Slirps and hugged him tightly. Slirps giggled uncontrollably and hugged him back.

"OK!" he said, happily, scampering back down the ramp and back onto the ground, "Bye, Sparky! Slirps can't wait to see you again!"

"Bye, Slirps!" called Sparky out the window, as their starcruiser took off and left the Ocean of Cosmic Dust's atmosphere, "I'll visit you again real soon!"

Thanks to the Neutomic Crystals and X-5's expertise, the ship's engine was now working, and the starcruiser glided gracefully into space. Sparky watched as the now bright and colourful Ocean of Cosmic Dust got smaller and smaller, eventually vanishing from view. He smiled happily at the fact that he had rekindled an old friendship, then turned from the window to X-5.

"I know it's not really the time to gloat, but—HA!" declared Sparky, pointing at X-5, "I was right! There _was_ somebody there who could help us after all!"

"Excuse me," snapped X-5, "But do you not think we have more important things to worry about than fulfilling your very fragile Neutropian ego? Finding the chief and stopping an evil supervillain, for instance?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Sparky, twiddling the steering wheel, and directing the starcruiser towards the solar system.

"This mission is very precarious," said X-5, when the ship was hovering above Earth, "Since Maximus has the chief's bracelet, we have no way of contacting her."

"I've got a plan," declared Sparky, "Betty should be in school by now. I'll dress up in those school clothes I used last time and find out what's happened."

"Do you truly think that that is a good idea?" asked X-5, "Interacting with Earth beings is strictly against the Galactic Guardian code."

"It worked last time, didn't it?" protested Sparky, "When the chief's bracelet got taken and I went into her school to find her, we managed to save the universe."

"You _did_ nearly let it slip that you were an alien," pointed out X-5.

"This is an emergency!" exclaimed Sparky, "And now I've had some experience, I know _exactly_ how to go undercover as an Earth kid. Don't attract attention, don't mention aliens, and just try to act exactly like everyone else."

"OK," said X-5, reluctantly, "But remember, if anyone asks how you know the chief—"

"—I'm her cousin from out of town," cut in Sparky, "Yeah, I know! You don't have to tell me that!" He stepped into he teleporter. "Now beam me down already!"

X-5 sighed and reluctantly pressed the button on the teleporter, and Sparky beamed down into Betty's school.

There was a flash of light and Sparky appeared inside a cubicle in one of Betty's school bathrooms. He pushed open the cubicle door and stepped out. He looked at himself in the mirror to see that he was wearing the same typical Earth disguise he had worn the last time he had gone undercover in Betty's school. Great! Now to find Betty!

Suddenly the sound of a toilet flushing sounded from behind him. One of the cubicle doors opened and a girl with black hair, heavy make up and a snooty expression stepped out of the cubicle.

The moment she lay eyes on Sparky, she screamed!

"What do you think you're doing in here!?" Penelope Lang shrieked, "THIS IS THE GIRLS' BATHROOM! GET OUUUUUUT!"

"Huh!?" exclaimed Sparky, jumping back.

"GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOWWW!" screeched Penelope!

She raised her foot in front of her, and with a loud WHACK! Sparky smacked right into the bathroom doors! He quickly flung them open and leapt out, landing in a heap on the school hallway floor. Yeesh. Being kicked in the chest by a girl in high heels was even more painful than it sounded. Rubbing the painful spot on his chest, Sparky gingerly got to his feet. He adjusted his glasses and marched down the school hallway, the smile returning to his face.

_Don't worry, chief!_ thought Sparky, as he strode confidently through the corridor, _I'm coming for you!_


	9. Finding Betty

**Chapter 9**  
**Finding Betty**

_So where would Betty be now? _wondered Sparky, as he wandered down the school hall, _Oh, I know! I'll ask some of the other kids!_

"Excuse me," Sparky said, trying to catch the arm of a tall blonde girl in a blue dress, but the halls were too busy with chatter, he didn't hear Sparky. "Hello!" Sparky tried to grab the attention of a red headed boy with earphones in, "Excuse me! Anyone? Hello-o?"

_Craters,_ thought Sparky, crossly, _Who knew it would be so hard to grab attention here?_

"Excuse me? Hi there," he said, tapping the arm of a large bulky boy in a blue t-shirt and a backwards-turned baseball cap.

The boy turned round and Sparky's eyes widened in horror as he recognized him as the same boy who had stolen Betty's bracelet last time he was here.

"Whadda you want, _nerd!?"_ Duncan Paine jeered, jabbing a finger at Sparky's glasses, breaking one of the lenses!

"Hey!" exclaimed Sparky, outraged, "I was using those!"

"And what're _you_ gonna do about it?" sneered Duncan, laughing nastily.

"Give you a galactic citation for abuse of others' property!" exclaimed Sparky, jabbing a finger at Duncan!

X-5 facepalmed back in the starcruiser as he heard this.

"A galactic what?" repeated Duncan, advancing on the Neutropian, a deadly scowl creasing onto his face.

"Oh! Never mind!" exclaimed Sparky, in a high voice, his eyes darting here and there, "I was just wondering where I might find—"

Duncan grabbed Sparky by the front of his shirt! "No one messes with me!" he spat in the Neutropian's face!

Sweat ran down Sparky's brow!

"I mean...of course they don't, I just..." he gabbled, "Oh my gosh! What's that!"

He pointed over Duncan's shoulder. Fooled, Duncan whipped round to look, releasing Sparky as he did. Not stopping to think twice, the Neutropian leapt up onto his feet and sped down the school hallways away from Duncan as fast as his legs could carry him! He swerved round a corner, and as he did so, he smacked right into a girl coming round, knocking them both off their feet!

"Oh my gosh!" Sparky heard the girl exclaim, "I am so sorry!"

Wait a minute! Sparky knew that voice!

"Paloma!?" exclaimed Sparky, looking up to see the brown-skinned Sharbenian with the red t-shirt and thick brown hair he had met when adventuring to stop Pandora.

Paloma gasped! "Sparky?" she asked, incredulously, "What are you doing on Earth? Quick, in here!"

She grabbed Sparky by the shirt and yanked him into the nearest supply closet, shutting the door behind them.

"Craters! Where's the light switch?" Sparky said, feeling around.

Paloma's eyes suddenly lit up a bright feline orange, lighting up the area around them a little, revealing the light switch on the wall. She flicked it on, and the supply closet lit up.

"Thank goodness you're here, Sparky!" said Paloma, with a note of panic in her voice, "What happened at the awards ceremony!? Juanita left to attend three days ago and she hasn't come back! Please, please, please say nothing has happened to her!"

Sparky gulped. "Heh heh," he said, nervously, "About that."

He told Paloma everything that had happened at the Galactic Guardian Awards Ceremony, and how the Guardians had all been captured by Maximus, save for him and X-5, and how the galaxy was most likely vulnerable to his control by now.

Paloma gasped! "What do we do!?" she exclaimed, "We have to stop Maximus and save the Guardians!"

"That's why I'm on Earth," said Sparky, "There's only one Galactic Guardian who can handle Maximus, and that's Atomic Betty!"

"Betty didn't come to the awards ceremony?" asked Paloma, in confusion.

"No," said Sparky, "And Maximus had her bracelet! That's why I'm here. I have to find her so she can save the galaxy!"

"Yeah," said Paloma, slowly, "About that. Betty's been acting really strange lately. Every time I try and talk to her about aliens or Galactic Guardians, she acts like she doesn't even know what I'm talking about. I asked her if I could go up in her starcruiser and find out what happened to Juanita, but she just looked at me like I was crazy and told me to get my head out of the clouds, because aliens and starcruisers don't exist, apparently."

Sparky's eyes widened.

"I thought she might be on some kind of top-secret mission, and that she can't talk about anything regarding space, even to me," said Paloma, "Is that why she's acting like she doesn't know?"

Sparky shook his head. "No," he said, in confusion, "Not that I know of. Can you take me to her?"

Paloma nodded. "Of course," she said, "Just _don't_ talk to anyone and _don't_ attract attention."

"Got it," said Sparky, saluting.

* * *

"Wasn't that amazing!?" exclaimed Betty, as she and Noah strode down the corridors, having just come out of their science class, where they had been experimenting which chemicals reacted with flames to create different colours, "That had to be our best chemistry lesson yet!"

"Totally!" agreed Noah, "Who would've thought separate atoms in a binary compound of a halogen would emit a light sample in such a broad range of colours just by being exposed to a flame?"

"You would," said Betty, smiling, "I saw the look on your face when Ms. Stone explained about the different chemicals. You knew it all already."

Noah chuckled. "Was it really that obvious?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes," replied Betty, bluntly, "Yes, it was."

They both laughed!

"Well, I'd better get to honors math," said Noah, looking at his watch, "See you at lunch!"

"Bye, Noah!" said Betty, waving as they parted, and continuing down the hallway to her own classroom.

"Betty!"

She suddenly heard someone call her name, and looked round, just in time to see Paloma and a boy she didn't recognise skid to a halt in front of her!

"Oh, Betty!" exclaimed Sparky, in relief, "Thank goodness I found you!"

"Uh, hi there," Betty said, with a confused smile, "Do I know you?"

Sparky blinked. That was unexpected. He knew his disguise was ingeniously elaborate, but could she really not recognise him? "Chief, it's me, Sparky!" he said, gesturing to himself.

Betty's eyes darted from side to side, nervously. "I'm...sorry, you must be mistaking me for someone else. I don't know a Sparky."

Paloma and Sparky exchanged panicked glances. What in the cosmos was going on!?

"Craters, don't you recognise me, chief!?" Sparky exclaimed, grabbing Betty's shoulders, "It's _me!"_

Betty's eyes widened! She pushed him off her and took a nervous step back. "OK..." she said, worriedly, "What's going on here? Why are you calling me "chief"?"

Paloma and Sparky looked at each other desperately. What were they supposed to do? What was happening to their friend?

There was nobody else around...all the other students had gone to class, so—

"Sorry, chief!" exclaimed Sparky! He grabbed her by her sweater and yanked her over to the nearest supply closet!

"Aah!" screamed Betty!

Paloma whipped open the closet and Sparky yanked Betty in! The Sharbenian slammed the door behind them!

"Hey!" exclaimed Betty, trying to push Sparky off her, "Get off of me, you creep!"

"X-5, beam me up!" exclaimed Sparky into his watch, struggling to keeping a tight hold on a flailing Betty!

A loud blast of bright white light shot down into the closet from Betty's starcruiser, enveloping the two wrestling Guardians and beaming them up to the teleporter in a flash!


	10. Familiar?

**Chapter 10**  
**Familiar?**

With a bright flash of light, Betty and Sparky appeared in the teleporter on the starcruiser, Betty still wrestling to escape from Sparky's hold!

"Get off of me!" exclaimed Betty, shoving Sparky off her and scrambling to her feet, "What do you think you're—"

Then she stopped. She blinked. The anger on her face slowly vanished, and was replaced with a look of curiosity.

"Wait a second..."

She stared at the two characters in front of her with intrigue. There was something about them that seemed oddly...familiar. This outfit she was wearing...the outfits _they_ were wearing...the robot...the green boy with the long nose...this spaceship...that seat...those controls. Betty didn't understand it. She definitely didn't remember ever seeing anything or anyone like them before, but looking at them sparked something in her mind. Almost like a deja view vibe. But what? She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Do I...know you two?" she queried, raising a shaking finger to point at them.

X-5 and Sparky exchanged worried glances.

"Why is the captain acting like this?" questioned X-5.

"I don't know!" Sparky exclaimed, "Paloma said she's been acting really weird lately! It's like she doesn't even know who we are!"

"Paloma?" repeated Betty, "How do _you_ two know Paloma?"

"Perhaps she's not the real chief!" Sparky said, in an audible whisper, "She could be an imposter! X-5, quick! Scan her!"

"Affirmative." X-5 floated over to Betty and examined her face in his robotic claws.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Betty demanded.

"This will only take a second." X-5's eyes glowed bright blue, and cast beams of light onto Betty's face, which slowly moved down from her forehead to her chin. "Scan complete. This is definitely the real chief," X-5 reported, releasing Betty from his claws, "However, I am detecting a strange disturbance in her neo-cortex and hippocampus. It seems as though her long-term memory has been tampered with."

"Tampered with?" repeated Betty, "What are you talking about?"

"Betty, tell us, what's the _earliest_ thing you can remember from exactly ten days ago?" asked Sparky, as that was when they had last seen her.

Betty put a finger to her chin and thought. "Well, I remember waking up in some kind of...metal chair. Inside some kind of...citadel. Then I met this really nice guy in a red robe who looked kind of feline—"

"Maximus!" Sparky and X-5 both exclaimed together!

Betty's mouth opened. "Yes," she said, with a puzzled expression, "How did you know?"

Sparky and X-5 turned away from her and put their heads together.

"I think it is possible that Maximus may have done something to her after all," said X-5, "From what we have seen, Betty's memories seem to have been erased. She has no idea who we are."

"What do we do?" Sparky said, in a hushed whisper, "Isn't there something we can do to get her memory back?"

"What are you guys talking about?" said Betty, suspiciously. Then she looked up, and her jaw dropped. "Are we...in space?" she breathed.

"Betty," X-5 said, turning round, "You might not recognise us, but I am X-5, and this is Sparky. We are your friends, and you are the captain of our ship."

"Yes!" Sparky exclaimed, "You're Atomic Betty! You're a Galactic Guardian! We go on adventures and fight supervillains and save the galaxy together!"

"What?" Betty said, stepping back in alarm, "What are you talking about?"

Sparky and X-5 exchanged glances. This was not going to be easy.

It took them a few minutes to explain the whole story. About the Galactic Guardians, and Betty's status as Defender of the Cosmos, as well as many of the missions they had gone on together. As they did, Betty's eyes got wider and wider with disbelief.

"That's ridiculous!" she exclaimed, once they had finished, "You two are crazy!"

"We're not," insisted Sparky, "We've been saving the universe together for years! We think Maximus did something to your memory that made you forget!"

"Maximus?" repeated Betty, slowly, "But...he was a really nice guy."

"Ahem," coughed X-5, "Supreme Evil Overlord Maximus I.Q. is none other than the most feared criminal mind in the entire galaxy. He wanted you out of the way so he could dominate the universe. Which he is in the process of doing as we speak."

Betty's eyes widened. "Dominate the universe?"

"Maximus has been set on ruling the galaxy for a long time," X-5 said, "You, Sparky and I have always stopped him. Yet Maximus succeeded in tampering with your memories so you could not continue to do so. Now we need your help to stop him."

"But why should I believe you?" Betty said, "I don't even know you!"

"You do!" Sparky asserted, "You just don't remember us because your memories were erased. Your name's Betty Barrett! You're thirteen years old, you're dating a boy called Dylan who your enemy Penelope likes, and you wrote a song called _Dog Star Sirius_ for your school talent show!"

"Your parents are called Tanya and Quincy, you have a cat named Purrsy, and a grandmother named Beatrixo," X-5 added, "You also hate tacos!"

Betty's jaw dropped. For a moment, she couldn't speak. How did they know those things about her? She'd almost never told anyone the names of the people in her family, and nobody knew she hated tacos except for Noah and Paloma! How did they know?

Unless...? Well, unless...

Betty stared at the two characters in front of her. She had already sensed that there was something she wasn't seeing here.

"Did someone really erase my memories?" she queried, curiously, her hand coming close to her chin.

"We're positive!" Sparky said, "And if you just trust us, we'll prove it!"

Betty's eyebrows contorted. This was getting very mysterious. She wasn't sure if she should go along with their story or not. The idea that she was some kind of space superhero, and that someone had erased her memories was absurd. But...these two did seem to know her. And something in her instincts told her she knew them. She knew she had gotten a sense of familiarity from everything in this ship. Could it be? Could the two strange characters in front of her be telling the truth? Could they truly be her friends? Could her memories of them have truly been lost?

"Please, Betty," begged Sparky, "Just give us a chance to prove what we're saying is true."

Betty looked around at the spaceship, and then back at them. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "OK."

"Yes!" Sparky said, in delight!

"I'm still not saying I fully trust you," Betty said, suspiciously, as she climbed onto the captain's chair and sat down, "But something tells me I might be on to something here."

She clipped her seatbelt on and edged a few inches back into the seat, her back coming into contact with the chair's. Oh yes. This definitely felt familiar. Sitting in this position in this chair in this spaceship. It was like she'd done it a thousand times.

"Atomic Betty reporting for duty!" she said, saluting.

Then she paused. Huh. That was weird. She didn't know where that had come from. But somehow it had felt right coming out of her mouth. She shook off the thought.

"Alright, you two," she said, looking down at Sparky and X-5, "If you two want to prove what you're saying is true, then do it!"

"Aye aye, chief-a-rino!" Sparky said, saluting.

With a press of a button and a kick of the hyperboost, their starcruiser zoomed away from Earth!

"This all seems...so familiar," Betty said, in wonder, gazing up at the stars and planets as they passed by, "It's almost as if..." She trailed off, and got lost in her thoughts. This was getting more intriguing by the second.

They sped through asteroid fields, past planets of all different colours and sizes, past space stations and clouds of space dust. All of it Betty stared at in amazement. She had always wanted to go into space. Who knew that maybe...just maybe...she already had all along.

"We're getting close to the citadel!" Sparky said, audibly, as a thin red object began to appear in the distance, "Engage the holo-cloak, X-5!"

X-5 pressed a button on the dashboard, and their ship was instantly enveloped in a shimmering sheen of stars and deep indigo, camouflaging them perfectly against the dark vaccum of space. They landed silently, and the door of the starcruiser opened, the three Guardians stepping out onto the asteroid on which Maximus's citadel stood.

"Whoah..." Betty breathed, staring up at the citadel in wonder, "What is this place?"

"The lair of Maximus I.Q." said X-5, "And the prison of the remaining Galactic Guardians."

"So...what's a Galactic Guardian again?" questioned Betty.

"Protectors of the galaxy, defenders of the cosmos," answered X-5, "Maximus is intent on sequestering them, and it is up to us to save them."

"Right," said Betty, suspiciously, "So now what? I've trusted you so far, but if you want me to believe everything you say, I'm going to need some real evidence."

* * *

"Master!" exclaimed Minimus, stumbling into the room where Maximus was relaxing on the couch, "Master, we have intuders in the citadel!"

Maximus jumped off the couch! "Where are they!?" he bellowed, "I do not take kindly to intruders! Who dares to break into my citadel!?"

"Y-you'd better see for yourself, sir!"

He scampered out the door, and Maximus rushed after him!

"Here!" Minimus exclaimed, skidding to a halt in front of one of the screens in the security room!

Maximus I.Q.'s eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the green Neutropian boy and the yellow tin robot striding down the corridors of his lair, accompanied by—

"ATOMIC BETTY!"

* * *

"And remember," Sparky said, in a low voice, as the threesome walked down the corridors of Maximus's citadel, "We _can't_ let _anybody_ know we're here! So keep quiet!"

"Wait a second, are we _trespassing?"_ demanded Betty, "Isn't breaking into someone's home without their permission, like, _super_ illegal?"

"Not as illegal as abduction and galactic domination," said X-5, "Which is what we are trying to prevent by infiltrating Maximus's lair."

Betty's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I'm not sure how I feel about breaking into someone's place," she said, frowning, "What's to say _you're_ not the criminals here!? What's to say I'm not helping the wrong side?"

"No!" X-5 said, "Maximus is the wrong side. We are the ones doing good."

"Maximus is _evil_," added Sparky, quickly, "Make sure you remember that! Maximus is _very_ bad! The baddest bad guy in the universe!"

Betty pursed her lips in suspicion. "Right," she said, carrying on walking, observing the scenery around her. "This place is weird," she mused, rubbing her chin, thoughtfully. Her pace sped up as she headed down the corridor, craning her neck to see all that there was to see.

"I still don't think she believes us, Sparky," said X-5, as they watched Betty walk on.

"I know, but as soon as we find Maximus and save the Guardians, we can get her memories back," said Sparky, confidently.

Unbeknownst to the two, however, as Betty walked ahead, a button was pressed in a room somewhere else in the citadel.

"Come on, let's catch up with the chief," Sparky said, grabbing X-5's claw and pulling.

But at that very moment, the floor beneath their feet gave way! They dropped straight down a chute, and they opened their mouths to scream, but the hatch closed swiftly shut, as silently as it had opened!

Betty strode on down the corridor, looking this way and that, far too absorbed in her surroundings to notice anything that had happened behind her. Soon she approached another corner, and as she turned it, she saw the corridor split into three different directions; left, right and straight on; each leading down a separate hallway.

"So which way do we go now?" Betty asked.

There was no sound. The redhead looked behind her to see a dark, empty, deserted corridor.

"Hello?"

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Sparky and X-5 as they tumbled down the chute!

A hatch opened at the bottom, and they both catapulted out of it and landed smack bang on the floor, tumbling over in a crumpled heap at the foot of a red robe.

"Well, well, well," Maximus purred, rubbing his hands together, "What do we have here?"

* * *

"Sparky?" Betty said, nervously, taking a cautious step back down the way they had come, "X-5?"

Where were they? It was almost as if they had just abandoned her!? Suddenly, a loud beeping sound blared through the room, and red lights began to flash above her!

Betty gave a gasp of horror as two giant metal doors on either side of the corridor descended down from the ceiling and slammed shut, trapping her inside! She ran towards the one blocking the way she had come from and tried to pull it open! But it wouldn't shift!

"Sparky? X-5!?" she exclaimed, pounding on the door, "Where are you!?"

There was no sound. The two boys were nowhere to be found.

"Sparky!? X-5!?" she shouted, pounding harder, "What happened to—"

Then she stopped dead. Her fists slowly lowered from the metal wall, and she stepped back. Her breathing became sharp and tense as the cold hard fact sank in. Of course. She remembered how tense Sparky and X-5 had been when she had first encountered them. How unnaturally insistent they had been on her remembering the things they told her. Their obvious triumph and relief when she had decided to trust them.

She had been tricked.

Betty's face contorted into a furious rage, and she gave a scream of frustration! What was she doing!? How could she have been so stupid as to listen to those two creeps!? She had trusted them, and they had lead her right into a trap! Why hadn't she seen this coming!? Obviously everything they had said was a pack of filthy lies! Why had she even tried to believe them!? Because of some _feeling_ she had had!? Had she really believed that she had been memory-wiped over the idea that they were making it all up!? What was wrong with her!?

"I can't believe this!" she exclaimed, angrily, "I'm such an IDIOT!" She raised a fist and punched the metal door as hard as she could in an attempt to get her anger out! "Aah!" she exclaimed, flinching back! She collapsed down on the floor, wincing from the pain in her knuckles.

She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry from the pain. Her body was flooded with cold, icy dread. What was going to happen now?

Then she heard a fizz and looked up. The part of the metal door she had punched was dented in the middle. A couple of sparks flew out of it with a small fizzing noise. Betty's eyes widened. Getting up and walking over to the door, she slowly put her hands on the edges of the plate she had punched and gave it a jiggle! This plate was weak! If there was some way she could break through it, perhaps she had a shot of getting out of here!

Then a memory from a week or so ago popped into her head. The memory of when she had copied the moves from the show she had been watching. That gave her the perfect idea!

Betty slowly crouched down and bent her knees in a lunge pose, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "HIIIIIII—" She leapt into the air and turned a somersault, her leg shot out like a dagger! "YAH!"

Her foot smashed into the door with brute force! She had expected the plate to crumble off, but as her blow landed, the entire metal door burst open, the broken pieces clattering onto the ground! Betty slowly breathed in and out, staring down at her own hands. Wow! That had felt incredible! Who knew she had been capable of doing that!? It was almost like she'd been doing it her whole life!

But there was no time to marvel at her own abilities now!

_I've got to get out of here!_ Betty thought, as she ran down the corridors. She turned round a corner and ran straight into Maximus I.Q.! She stumbled and they both staggered back from the collision!

She looked up and saw him. "Maximus!?"

"Betty!?" exclaimed Maximus. He quickly put on his acting face. "Oh, thank goodness you're OK!" he exclaimed, feigning relief, "I was worried those two criminals had already done their worst!"

"Wait," Betty said, slowly, "Criminals?"

"First thing's first," said Maximus, kneeling down and putting a firm hand on Betty's shoulder, "Tell me. How did you get here?"

Betty's eyebrows narrowed. She told him all about the green boy named Sparky and robot X-5 who she had been kidnapped by, and how they had brought her on board their spaceship and lured her here. "They said that I was a Galactic Guardian, whatever that is," she said, "I said they were mad, then they told me that you had erased my memory, and that was why I didn't remember."

Maximus's eyes widened in panic! Sparky and X-5 were on to him! And they had told Betty everything she had forgotten! This was bad, very bad.

"Then they brought me here," said Betty, her eyes narrowing more than ever, "They said that they were my friends, and that they needed my help to save the universe, but then they abandoned me where I was, and all these traps got sprung. Then it all made sense! This whole thing was just a scam set by that pair of liars!"

Maximus's panicked face became that of glee! _So,_ he thought, triumphantly, _She already thinks Sparky and X-5 are the villains here. This is good. No. This is EVIL._

"Why, of course!" exclaimed Maximus, clapping a hand to his forehead, "Those two criminals have been trying to break into my citadel for eons!"

"They have?" Betty repeated, in surprise.

"Most definitely!" said Maximus, "Have you not seen the star quality of my glorious home? The priceless items worth millions that I have here? Hundreds of beings in the galaxy desire my wealth! And it is the unfortunate truth that many of those are willing to steal to own what I have. Why, once a gang of outer space miscreants made off with one of my prize ships!"

That was actually true.

"And I know those two meddling boys," the feline supervillain continued lying through his teeth, rubbing his chin in mock thought, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time they've broken into my citadel to take what is mine from me. I activated the security system in attempt to stop them, but they escaped, and left you trapped inside!"

"That was _you!"_ Betty realized, clapping a hand to her face, "Of course! Why else would a security system go off!? They were breaking in illegally!"

"Thankfully, my loyal minions have captured those two meddlesome characters," said Maximus, "When I saw them abandon you, it was clear that you were being manipulated for nefarious purposes! I suspect they needed someone to frame for their juvenile acts. I merely came to find you. I dread to think what would have happened if they had succeeded!"

Well, that explained everything! Of course Maximus wasn't the bad guy! It had been just as she'd suspected! Sparky and X-5 had been using her!

"Thank goodness," Betty said, in relief, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. Then she gave a growl of frustration! "I just can't believe I was _stupid_ enough to believe their _ridiculous_ stories!" she exclaimed, furiously, "I mean, _come on!"_ she exclaimed, looking at Maximus, "Galactic Guardians!? Supervillains!? Memories being erased!? Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous in your _life!?"_

Maximus's whiskers twitched with excitement.

"I certainly haven't," he agreed, with a malicious glint in his eye.

"I'm just glad I ran into you," said Betty, "I have no idea where I am, or how to get home. Could you help me?"

Maximus's whiskers twitched with excitement more than ever. "Of course I can, my dear," he purred, "Come along with me and I'll help you with whatever you need."

Betty's face split into a huge smile. "Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed, and she followed Maximus back through the corridors of the citadel.

Maximus chuckled to himself. He couldn't believe how miraculously his plan had worked. Not only had Betty forgotten everything about space and Galactic Guardians, but she actually thought that Maximus was her friend and Sparky and X-5 were her enemies. This was the best day of Maximus's life, even better than the day when he had won two hundred ceramic ducks in the Galactic Lottery. And from him, that was saying something.

He watched Betty happily follow him through the corridors.

So young...  
So carefree...  
So innocent...

Perfect for Maximus's plan.

He decided to eliminate Betty along with Sparky and X-5, but first he would use her to brag to the Guardians. He couldn't wait to see the look on their faces when they found out.

* * *

"You two!" Betty exclaimed, furiously, a few minutes later staring at Sparky and X-5, who were pinned against the wall, their arms hanging from chains, as were the rest of the Guardians, "I trusted you, you pair of liars! I ought to rip your guts out!"

Maximus tutted next to her. "They were going to abandon you, and get you trapped in here for the rest of your life! Fortunately, I was able to sequester them and release you before they could do said deed!"

"Betty, don't listen to him!" exclaimed Sparky, "He's the supervillain!"

"You tried that already, remember?" snapped Betty, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!"

"Betty!" exclaimed DeGill, struggling against his chains, "What's wrong with you!? We're your _friends!_ What have you done to her, Maximus!?"

"There's no point in lying anymore, DeGill," said Maximus, smugly, patting Betty on the head, idly, "Betty here isn't going to believe any of your made-up stories. Face it. You've lost."

"Chief, he's lying!" shrieked Sparky, yanking on his chains, "Help us get out and we can defeat him!"

"Don't listen to anything they say, my dear," said Maximus, coolly, "They're only trying to get under your skin so you'll help them escape."

"You think I can't tell?" said Betty, rolling her eyes, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let _anybody_ get under _my_ skin again."

"Very impressive," said Maximus, sweetly, "Now why don't you come with me, and I'll ensure you get _safely_ home!"

"Thank you," said Betty, with a grateful smile, going after him.

"Betty, no!" exclaimed Sparky, "It's a trap!"

"Atomic Betty! Please!" cried Admiral DeGill, desperately, as Betty followed Maximus, "Being a Galactic Guardian is your honour! Do not let us down!"

Then suddenly, as Admiral DeGill said those words, something made Betty stop dead. A spark flickered up inside her, and she remembered something from a long, long time ago.

* * *

_"And so," said Admiral DeGill, from the top of the podium, "It is my great pleasure to announce this year's first Galactic Guardian Academy graduate!"_

_A young girl with short red hair and big green eyes stepped up onto the stage, and the audience cheered for her. Betty bowed graciously and turned to Admiral DeGill, who pinned a gold captain's badge to her pink Galactic Guardian._

_"By the order of the Galactic Guardians," said DeGill, graciously, "I make you Atomic Betty, and assign you your own ship and crew as a captain of the Galactic Guardians!"_

_Betty's face broke into a wide grin, and she gave a squee of excitement! A young green boy with a long nose and a yellow robot with X-5 stamped on his front stepped up onstage and Betty shook their hands warmly. She could tell that these two were going to be her new best friends._

_"Atomic Betty," said Admiral DeGill, holding Betty's hand in his own, "Being a Galactic Guardian is your honour. Do not let us down."_

* * *

Betty gasped! As the image faded from her mind, thousands of memories flooded back into her head! Her Galactic Guardian training lessons with Spindly Tam Kanushu, the day she had first become Atomic Betty and met Sparky and X-5, her very first mission in her bright red starcruiser, all her friends, all her missions, all the supervillains she had beaten, all the planets and stars she had journeyed to on her missions through the years!

The time she had infiltrated Maximus's annual board meeting with Sparky and X-5 to find out the feline's evil plots for the upcoming year. The time she had recovered the Sythian President's brain from the Chameleon, and all her Earth friends had gotten roped in. The time she had helped Admiral DeGill escape from Pontifadora and DeGill's clone. The time she had stopped Maximus from blasting the planet Coloosia with non-stop cacophony. The time Sparky and Betty had been switchmotized with Minimus and Maximus. The time she had travelled through the ghost ship of Aberderffia. The time Paloma had been kidnapped by Pandora to release the Beluvian Demon. All the adventures she had had, all the supervillains she had stopped, Maximus, Dr. Cerebral, the Chameleon, Iciclia, Infantor, Nuclea, Pontifadora, Max Sr., the Scribe, Hopper the Chopper, Masticula, Enormo, Mylord Orus...

And it was in that moment that Betty remembered who she was. She wasn't just Betty. She was Atomic Betty! Galactic Guardian and Defender of the Cosmos!


	11. Atomic Betty Returns

**Chapter 11**  
**Atomic Betty Returns**

Atomic Betty whipped round to face the supervillain.

"MAXIMUS!"

Maximus looked round in shock, before—

WHAM!

Betty's fist slammed into his jawbone, knocking him off his feet! The Supreme Evil Overlord was thrown to the ground and only just had time to look up before Betty pounced on him, her fists and kicks raining down on him like hailstones! With a flip and a punch, she slammed him to the ground and slapped a pair of galactic handcuffs on his wrists!

"Maximus I.Q.! You're under arrest!" shouted Betty!

Maximus looked up in disbelief! "What in the—!?"

"Looks like you couldn't erase my memories for long, Maximus!" said Betty, triumphantly, "And it also looks like the Galactic Guardians are back in business!"

She leaped off of Maximus and ran towards the other Guardians! Maximus tried desperately to free his hands from the handcuffs. Then his fingers touched Betty's bracelet, and a blast of light shot out of it, melting the handcuffs.

"NO!" bellowed Maximus, grabbing Betty by the neck and thrusting her against the wall, "I have come too far to be defeated yet again!"

Betty clawed at her neck, coughing and spluttering, trying to breathe, but Maximus's hand would not shift. Black stars winked in front of her eyes as she coughed and choked, trying to break the feline's grip! Then her eyes fell upon her bracelet around Maximus's wrist. Just before she completely blacked out, she shot out a hand and pressed the distress flare button on her bracelet. A blast of white light—a distress flare—shot out of her bracelet and into Maximus's eyes!

"AAAH!" he screamed, releasing Betty and clapping both hands to his wounded eyes as he staggered back!

"Hi-YAH!" Betty slammed a kick into his chest and he was thrown against a post!

Grabbing one of the coils of Dydactiam metal strands that were kept around Headquarters, she threw a coil around Maximus and tied him to the post, so he couldn't go anywhere. He growled and struggled, but couldn't get out!

"Looks like the universe won't be yours after all, Maximus!" grinned Betty, giving the rope a firm tug, "But I'll take _this!"_ She grabbed her bracelet and ripped it off Maximus's wrist! "Come on, Guardians, there isn't much time!" she exclaimed, running over to the Guardians and blasting them free with her bracelet lazer.

"Oh, chief, you're back!" exclaimed Sparky running over and throwing his arms around Betty.

"Hugging later, escaping now!" said Betty, freeing Zulia from her shackles. She whipped out her bracelet lazer and blasted a hole in the wall. "Come on, everybody!" she hollered, "The starcruiser's outside! Come on!"

Maximus struggled against the rope, but couldn't free himself. "BETTYS!" he bellowed, "GET DOWN HERE!"

Betty suddenly stopped dead. The sound of running footsteps sounded from behind the door.

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Betty, "Not them!"

The door was flung open and Optica, Destructa and Roxanne burst into the room!

"Bring it on, Betty!" they chorused!

Betty took a step back. Then she glanced over her shoulder at Sparky and X-5.

"Just like old times?" grinned Betty.

"Just like old times," grinned Sparky.

"YAAAAAAAH!" yelled Betty and Sparky, leaping at the Betty Clones!

With a flash of light, Optica lit up in flames, Destructa's body transformed into rock, and Roxanne stretched out her long rubbery arms. Destructa's aimed a punch at Betty's head, and Betty instantly ducked! She whipped out her flamethrower and blasted Destructa with it, sending her smashing into the wall! Her rock body shrank back down into normal flesh, her hair and skin singed black.

"Uh, chief!" yelled Sparky, "A little help here!"

Betty whipped round to see Sparly struggling helplessly wrapped up in Roxanne's rubber coils, and Optica raising two balls of fire ready to hurl at him!

"Sparky, look out!" yelled Betty, zapping a ray of electricity at Roxanne!

The blast of electricity hit the rubber girl squarely in the middle! Roxanne screamed in agony as the electricity zapped her at full force! She jittered and shook and her arm uncurled from Sparky, who dropped down to the floor and scrambled away as Roxanne fainted, her skin burnt red and her hair sticking out like lightning.

"Oh, look behind you!" drawled a third voice from behind them!

Betty and Sparky whipped round and gasped to see Optica hovering behind them, getting ready to blast them both with a huge fireball! Without stopping for a moment, they both lashed out and did the exact same thing!

"FREEZE RAY!" they both yelled, Betty zapping her bracelet's freeze ray and Sparky blasting his ice gun!

Both blasts hit Optica before she could even react, and she smashed down into the floor, the ice block around her shattering, leaving her quite literally out cold!

"Oh!" exclaimed Betty, clapping her hands to her cheeks, her face splitting into a huge grin! "Oh, how I've missed this!"

"Come on, chief!" exclaimed Sparky, yanking Betty out of the hole in the wall.

They both leapt out through the hole onto the wide part of the citadel and ran after the rest of the Guardians!

"WAKE UP!" bellowed Maximus, "BETTYS! WE CANNOT LET THEM ESCAPE!

Optica's eyes flickered open, and she shivered, clamping her arms to herself to keep herself warm.

"Optica!" shouted Maximus!

The red Betty clone jumped up to her feet and ran over to untie Maximus. "Don't worry, daddy, I'll have you out of here in a—"

"Don't worry about me!" exclaimed Maximus, "Stop that Betty before she escapes!"

"Yes, daddy!"

Optica clenched her fists and lit up in flames again, the remains of ice and frost on her instantly evaporating! With a loud eruption of fury, she zoomed out the hole made by Betty and after the Guardians!

"Don't think you're getting away that easily, Atomic Betty!" Optica roared, her hands lighting ablaze with fireballs!

Betty whipped round in panic, and blasted her freeze ray at Optica again!

"Nice try!" hollered Optica, dodging out of the way of the blasts as deftly as a hummingbird, "It's gonna take a lot more than that to stop me!"

"Lucky for you, there's more where that came from, Optica!" shouted Betty, defiantly, aiming her bracelet at Optica as she swooped down through the air! "Heat-seeking missiles!" she yelled, and three missiles shot out of her bracelet, heading right for her fire hybrid clone!

Optica gasped! "No!" she shrieked! She dived down out of the way, but the missiles were in hot pursuit! There was a KABOOM! as the missiles hit her flaming body, and exploded in a flurry of heat and singed stone, leaving a huge crater in the ground!

"Yes!" declared Betty, punching the air, "Now everyone into the starcruiser!"

* * *

"My legs hurt..." whimpered Optica, shaking with pain as Maximus, Minimus, Destructa and Roxanne approached. She tried to get up, but couldn't. "I can't stand up..."

"Stop being such a WIMP!" Maximus snapped, "Get up! I'm trying to take over the universe and I do NOT have time for your RIDICULOUS..." Then he faltered as Optica's eyes welled up with tears. He sighed. "I mean...there, there," soothed Maximus, in a more fatherly tone, hating himself for even pretending to be this nice, "It's alright..." he helped Optica get to her feet, and wiped the tears from her eyes, promising himself silently that he would flay himself later for acting like such a softy. But universal domination called for some very extreme measures, such as this.

Optica hugged him round the middle with shaking arms. Maximus tried to resist the urge to yank her away.

"Don't worry about anything. I'm just glad you're safe..." Maximus clenched his teeth together, furiously, pressing her head to his chest and stroking her burnt skin, "...sweetheart."

His sweet tone of voice was grating on his nerves, but he knew it had to be done. He patted Optica on the head several times. That seemed to cheer her up a little.

"Nice going, Optica!" snapped Destructa, stomping up, "You were supposed to stop them, but nooooooo, you had to get battered up and start crying like a little baby once they took you down!"

"You got taken down first, genius!" Optica shot back, "At least _I_ was able to get up and fight some more!"

"Yeah, but _you_ were the one who screwed up when it really _mattered!"_ snapped Roxanne, "You couldn't handle a girl when you've got all that fire power!"

"You two losers couldn't beat her either!"

"Don't call us losers!"

"I'll call you whatever I want! Loser! Loser! Loser!"

Maximus clenched his fists and was about to hit them all on the head, when he resisted. It was difficult, granted, but he couldn't really hit them.

"Now, girls," he said, in a strangled voice, "It's not nice to make fun of your dear sisters."

"But we're the Bad Guys," said Destructa, "We're not supposed to be nice."

Maximus sighed, exasperatedly. "Yes, but I am your father, and I command you to—I mean, I _ask_ that you get along," he said, with the last strength he could muster.

"I beg your pardon, your most evil master," said Minimus, timidly, "But Atomic Betty is getting away!"

Maximus jolted out, and that old look of fury crawled onto his face. "Bettys! Minimus! Into the ship!" he ordered, "We must catch that Atomic Pest before she ruins my evil plan!"

* * *

"So..." Admiral DeGill said, in a rather shaken state, as Betty's starcruiser zoomed away from Maximus's citadel, "Now that we are all safe, I think we all would appreciate an explanation as to what happened back there."

"Maximus erased my memories," Betty explained, from her captain's chair, "I remember everything now. He strapped me into some kind of machine with this suction cup on my head and said he was going to use it to erase all my memories of being a Galactic Guardian."

"I expect he was counting on us to rescue her and take her home," said X-5, from the navigating seat, "As we had no idea what he had done to her until now."

"Obviously without my memories and my bracelet, I had no idea who I really was," Betty continued on, "I thought I was just an ordinary schoolgirl. Anytime someone brought up aliens or Galactic Guardians, I had no idea what they were talking about. Oh no!" she exclaimed, smacking her forehead with her hand, "Paloma! Paloma tried to tell me! Ugh, and I was so mean to her! What have I done?"

"Don't worry, Betty," said Juanita, reassuringly, "Paloma is your best friend. She won't be mad."

"I still can't believe how useless we all were against Cat Boy!" said Sparky, shaking his head, "Honestly, the Galactic Guardians may be awesome, but Betty's the best of us all! Without her, we didn't stand a chance!"

"That's obviously what his plan was," said X-5, "He knew Betty was the only thing standing in his way in achieving galactic domination. Erasing her memories meant she would never know she was needed. And without her, the galaxy was doomed."

"Hey, don't sell yourselves short, guys," said Betty, trying to cheer her friends up, "You guys managed to escape Maximus's forces and find me! Without you, the galaxy would still be his!"

"But how in the universe did you recover?" Admiral DeGill asked, in intrigue, "One moment you were believing everything Maximus had said, and the next you were engaging in a frightful fist-fight and leading a prison riot!"

"I guess erased memories aren't as lost as they seem at the time," said Betty smiling, "There were so many times when I knew I remembered something. Like when I did kung-fu moves in front of the TV, or when I saw Sparky and X-5 in this ship, or sat in this seat. It all felt familiar. I guess I just needed one little push, and it all came back!" Then her smile disappeared. "I still just can't believe I trusted Maximus over Sparky and X-5. You two must hate me."

"What!?" exclaimed Sparky, throwing his hands up, "Are you kidding me!? It's not your fault! Cat Boy's the one who tricked you! He's just a big jerk!"

"I'm...just glad to be back, honestly," said Betty, smiling tearfully, "I missed all of you so much. Especially you two. I missed this ship, and Headquarters, and going on missions with you guys, saving the day. Everything." She paused for a second, and gave a laugh. "You know what? I think I even missed Maximus and Minimus."

Suddenly, there was a loud BANG! Everyone in the starcruiser gave a panicked shriek as a blast of hot white light shot past them, missing the ship by a splinter!

"Luckily, that's not an issue anymore!" exclaimed Sparky, pointing out the ship's window, "Look!"

Betty whipped round to see Maximus I.Q.'s black spaceship speeding after them, the death ray beneath crackling with deadly white energy!

Her eyebrows narrowed! "It's not over yet, boys!

* * *

"Listen, you meddling Galactic Guardians, and listen well!" Maximus growled over the video phone, "I am on your tail! And I have come too far in this ingenious scheme to be DENIED MY LONG-DESERVED VICTORY! Prepare to face your ultimate destruction!"

"Destruction! Destruction! Destruction!" cheered Minimus and the Betty clones in the background!

"Stop that!" snapped Maximus, "It's very annoying!"

* * *

"Hang on, everybody!" exclaimed Sparky, yanking the steering wheel and slamming his foot down on the accelerator, as their ship shot through the sky, dodging the flaming hot beams of white light rocketing from every angle!

"What is that!?" exclaimed Betty, plastered to the back of her seat as the ship shot away from Maximus, "I've never seen a death ray like that before!"

"That is no ordinary death ray!" exclaimed Admiral DeGill, hanging onto the side of Betty's chair for dear life, "Those beams are Series 9000 doomsday lazers!"

"What!?" exclaimed Betty, in horror, "I thought those were outlawed across the galaxy!"

"They were!" exclaimed Admiral DeGill, "Before Maximus took over—LOOK OUT!"

"AAAAAAAH!" Everybody on board screamed as the ship lurched to the side, dodging another blast by a hair's breadth!

"They're gaining on us, chief!"

"Quick, Sparky, hyperboost!"

"You got it!"

The ship's hyperboost activated, and the ship's thrusters exploded into life, sending them hurtling forwards!

"HOLD ON EVERYONE!"

* * *

"You won't get away from me this time!" roared Maximus, yanking on the lever that activated his ship's hyperboost!

* * *

It was the wildest space chase the Guardians had ever encountered! They raced through the galaxy at breakneck speed, diving in and out of asteroids, slingshotting around entire moons, Maximus's lazer blowing up everything in its path! Planets exploded as the ray blasted into their centres, sending flaming debris flying in all directions! Maximus's eyes were bloodshot, and his jaws were clenched so tight, his teeth looked like they would break! He wasn't going to give up now! Anything that got in his way would be destroyed! The feline wasn't going to stop until they were all dead!

"Captain! We are running out of endurance!" exclaimed X-5, "The generator is overheating! The ship cannot take much more of this speed!"

"Well, do something!" exclaimed Sparky, wildly yanking the steering wheel, "Turn on the cooling fans! We can't let Cat Boy catch us!"

"Wait...fan!" Betty gasped out loud! "Sparky!" she exclaimed, "I've got an idea—AAAAAAGH!" She tumbled forward into her seat as the ship lurched to avoid another shot from Maximus's doomsday lazer!

"Sorry, chief!"

"Remember from months ago when Iciclia kept trying to get the heat from the sun off her planet!?" Betty exclaimed, jiggling up and down from the bumpy spaceship, trying to keep herself upright, "Remember when she installed that fan and the asteroid and those mirrors all to stop the heat from melting Glacies!?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Sparky, yanking the steering wheel round, "What about them!?"

"Remember when you—AAAAAH!"

The ship catapulted round in a circle again as Maximus's ship continued firing the burning bright beams from the doomsday lazer!

"What!?" exclaimed Sparky, scrabbling around with the controls, barely able to look back at Betty, "What are you saying!?" Then he looked to the side, and his eyes fell upon the mirror hanging from the dashboard. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "I get it!"

* * *

"You meddling Guardians will never escape me!" bellowed Maximus I.Q., his face contorted with fury, and his eyes wild and bloodshot, his hands yanking at the controls of his ship like an insane driver, "THERE'S NOWHERE TO HIDE!"

"Daddy!" pestered Roxanne, "I'm hungry! Can we go out for ice cream after this?"

"Yeah!" Optica added, "You promised we'd celebrate with ice cream after your success!"

"And what about the lipstick you promised us?" Destructa demanded, "You haven't bought us that yet!"

"Why do you need lipstick new if you can always just steal mine?" snapped Optica, putting her hands on her hips, "Seems like an illogical fallacy!"

"I don't take your lipstick!"  
"You're such a liar!"  
"Am not!"  
"Are too!"

"BE QUIET, THE LOT OF YOU!" roared Maximus, his fists clenched in fury!

The Betty clones cowered in the corner! But Maximus didn't care! He was sick of the nice act! He was going to get what he wanted his way!

* * *

"Hit us with your best shot, _Cat Boy!"_ Sparky yelled, shaking his fist at Maximus over the video phone, "Nothing's gonna take down the Galactic Guardians!"

"We'll just see about that!" bellowed Maximus, "FIRE!"

He slammed his fist down on the button, and his ship's death ray fired yet another burning beam of deadly white light towards towards Betty's ship, blasting through the stars faster than a flaming comet!

"Incoming!" exclaimed X-5!

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" screamed Atomic Roger!

"Not yet!" exclaimed Betty, "Just another second!"

The doomsday lazer rocketed towards them, coming closer and closer by every millisecond! They could almost feel the heat on their faces! The Junior Galactic Guardians League screamed and covered their eyes, as did the Bangoons! The Rockettes all gave high-pitched shrieks, and even Admiral DeGill leapt down and cried out in panic!

"NOW, SPARKY, NOW!" screamed Betty!

"HOW ABOUT A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE, CAT BOY!?" Sparky shrieked, yanking the steering wheel round and slamming his hand down on the activator button!

The ship whipped right round to face Maximus, and at the last second, the mirror hatch activated, hurling out the giant mirror they had used to defeat Iciclia! The doomsday lazer blasted into it and rocketed right back off, heading straight for Maximus's spaceship!

Maximus took one look at the lazer shooting right towards him, and his face blanched!

"AAAAAAH!"

BOOM!

The doomsday lazer hit Maximus's spaceship at full force, and it it exploded with a ferocious blast! Flaming chunks of metal and weaponry were hurled in every direction, smoke billowing out of the ship's remains as they catapulted into the surrounding space, aflame in multiple colours!

"YEAH!"

The Guardians inside Betty's starcruiser whooped and cheered as they watched the explosion!

"We did it!" cheered Betty, leaping up in her chair, "The galaxy is safe! And Atomic Betty is back!"

"Um, Betty?" asked Zulia.

Betty turned round. "Yes?" she said.

"Now that the galaxy's safe, could we _p__lease_ go somewhere and get some air?" Zulia asked, "It's _really_ crowded in here."

Betty looked down at Sparky, X-5, Admiral DeGill, Spindly Tam Kanushu, the Rockettes, Atomic Roger, the Bangoons, the Junior Galactic Guardians League, Commander McSlim, Carly, X-3, X-8.5, B-1, Robo-Betty, Zulia and Juanita all squished into the front room of her starcruiser and laughed.

"OK."


	12. All's Well That Ends Well

**Chapter 12**  
**All's Well That Ends Well**

"...and you'll be happy to know that the Galactic Guardians are back in business!" Betty said, smiling at Paloma and Juanita, who were sitting on the opposite couch at her house, "Admiral DeGill authorised an immediate reconstruction of Headquarters, and the worlds Maximus enslaved have been freed, so I can safely say that things are back to normal!"

"Betty was a hero," said Juanita, looking up at Paloma, "We thought Maximus had finally won, but she saved the day!"

Betty blushed. "I just did what I had to. And I'm really sorry for all that mean stuff I said to you, Paloma," she apologized, "I hope you're not mad at me."

"Don't be silly," smiled Paloma, "It wasn't your fault. Of course I'm not mad at you. You'll always be the best friend I could ever want."

"Thanks. And so will you," Betty said, "Best friends forever, Paloma?"

"Best friends forever, Betty," smiled Paloma. They hugged.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of Betty's front door opening. "Hey, sweetie," Tanya cooed as she strode into the house and came into the living room where Betty, Paloma and Juanita were sitting. "How was your day?"

Betty shrugged. "Uneventful."

* * *

To tie up some loose ends, I expect you were wondering what happened to the baddies after that horrible explosion. The Betty Clones, due to their superpowers, were almost invulnerable, so they had not been seriously harmed. Maximus and Minimus had been less lucky.

"I can't believe it!" moaned Maximus I.Q. as he lay on top of his bed completely bandaged up to his neck, his limbs hanging up in casts and his whole body almost completely paralyzed, "I was so close! _So close_ to universal domination! Then Miss Atomic _Pesty_ and her _meddling_ friends had to mess things up!"

"Well..." croaked Minimus, who was lying at the other end of the bed, also trussed up in bandages, "At least now we can finally have some peace and quiet," he said, trying to be positive.

"Daddyyyyyy!" a voice whined just as he said that. Optica burst into the room, followed by Destructa and Roxanne. "Roxanne is using my eye shadow!" Optica whined.

"Am not!" shot Roxanne, "You're such a liar!"

"And Optica keeps stealing my lipstick!" whined Destructa.

"Do not!" snapped Optica, "Who'd wanna use _your_ stupid lipstick, I'd get cooties!"  
"Well all the lipstick in the galaxy couldn't make _you_ look beautiful!"  
"Take that back!"  
"In your dreams!"

"Stop it! Girls! Be quiet! Please! I need peace! GIRLSSSS!" bellowed Maximus, as his triplets bickered endlessly, "DADDY NEEDS SILENCE!"

"IDIOT!"  
"BIRDBRAIN!"  
"DORKUS!"  
"Let go of my hair!"  
"Stop using my lipstick!"  
"Give me my eye shadow!"  
"Stay outta my room!"  
"Get off my dress!"  
"I'm telling on you!"  
"DADDYYYYYYY!"

"ARGGGHHH!" moaned Maximus in agony!


End file.
